SEOUL, July 25 (Reuters) - South Korea's SK Hynix ( HXSCF )

posted its highest quarterly profit since 2018 on

Thursday as the Nvidia ( NVDA ) supplier forecast second-half AI

chip demand to rise further, such as for high bandwidth memory

(HBM) used in generative AI chipsets.

It was the world's second-largest memory chipmaker's third

consecutive quarterly profit after massive losses last year. SK

Hynix ( HXSCF ) has benefited the most among its peers from AI-driven

appetite for high-end chips and solid-state drives (SSDs)

following its early entry and large investments in the segments.

"The company will further solidify the position as a leader

in AI memory products ... based on a stable financial

structure," CFO Kim Woohyun said in a statement.

The world's second-biggest memory chipmaker reported a 5.47

trillion won ($3.96 billion) operating profit for the April-June

quarter versus a loss of 2.9 trillion won a year earlier.

It was in line with expectations for a 5.4 trillion won

operating profit from LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted

toward analysts who are more consistently accurate.

Revenue rose 125% on-year to a record quarterly high of 16.4

trillion won.

($1 = 1,380.3400 won)