SK Inc. (034730.KS) Q1 2026: Operating Profit Surges 8.6x to ₩3.67T as HBM Cycle and Oil Refining Rebound Collide

Consolidated operating profit explodes from ₩427B to ₩3.67T on simultaneous peaks at SK Innovation and SK Square — but standalone parent earnings sink 29% and operating cash flow captures just 6.7% of net income.

Source: Q1 2026 Quarterly Report — Filed May 2026 with DART | Consolidated Financial Statements | Unit: ₩ billions

Consolidated operating profit ballooned 8.6-fold in a single quarter — from ₩427 billion to ₩3.67 trillion — and the mechanism is straightforward. The SK Innovation cluster swung from a ₩30.7 billion operating loss to a ₩2.16 trillion profit, while SK Square's operating profit rocketed from ₩1.65 trillion to ₩8.28 trillion as the SK hynix HBM cycle hit full stride. With two subsidiary cycle peaks colliding in the same quarter, consolidated revenue reached ₩36.75 trillion (+18.9%) and net income hit ₩9.91 trillion (+175.9%). Yet SK Inc.'s standalone operating profit actually declined 29.3% from ₩176.2 billion to ₩124.6 billion, and the operating-cash-flow-to-net-income ratio came in at just 0.07x (₩661 billion of operating cash flow against ₩9.9 trillion of net income) — confirming that the bulk of this earnings explosion is non-cash equity-method income. The quarter offers a near-perfect case study in how a Korean holding company shines at the peak of its subsidiary cycle, and what gets obscured in the glare.