Smartphones in trouble, but Samsung profits jump

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November 1, 2018

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Smartphones in trouble, but Samsung profits jump

Source: AFP | 00:01 UTC+8 November 1, 2018 |

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Samsung Electronics yesterday posted record quarterly operating and net profits as solid demand for its memory chips cushioned the fallout from slowing smartphone sales — but the company warned of tougher times ahead.

The South Korean tech giant — the world’s top maker of smartphones and memory chips — has recovered from a series of setbacks, including a humiliating recall and the jailing of its de facto chief, to post a series of record-breaking numbers.

The profits have been driven by its mighty semiconductor unit, which provides chips for its own devices as well as competitors including Apple.

But Samsung said in a statement it expected “overall earnings across the company to decline” in the fourth quarter because of seasonal factors in the semiconductor market.

Going into 2019, “earnings are forecast to be weak for the first quarter” for the same reason, it added, before business conditions improved.

For July-September, Samsung reported an operating profit of 17.6 trillion won (US$15.4 billion), up 21 percent from a year ago and a record for any quarter. Net profit also jumped 17.5 percent to 13.1 trillion won, also a record, while sales rose 5.5 percent to 65.4 trillion won.

The figures were “driven mainly by the continued strength of the memory (chip) business,” Samsung said. The division reported an operating profit of 13.6 trillion won.

Mobile handsets once contributed the lion’s share of Samsung Electronics’ overall sales and profit, but the unit reported a third-quarter operating profit of only 2.22 trillion won, down 33 percent year on year.

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Smartphones in trouble, but Samsung profits jump

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