Samsung Electronics posts record in 3Q despite smartphone struggles
SEOUL: Samsung Electronics yesterday posted record quarterly operating and net profits for the July-September period as solid demand for its memory chips cushioned the fallout from slowing smartphone sales – but 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 that run was coming to an end, Samsung signalled in a statement, saying that it expected “overall earnings across the company to decline” in the fourth quarter due to 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 Q3 2018, Samsung reported operating profit of 17.6 trillion won ($15.4 billion), up 21 per cent from a year ago and a record for any quarter.
Net profit also jumped 17.5 per cent year-on-year to reach 13.1 trillion won for the July-September period, also a record, while sales rose 5.5 per cent to 65.4 trillion won.
The figures – in line with estimates announced earlier this month – were “driven mainly by the continued strength of the memory (chip) business”, Samsung said.
The unit dominates the global market and the firm has invested tens of billions of dollars each year to build and expand its factories.
It reported an operating profit of 13.6 trillion won, the second consecutive quarterly record, offsetting sagging profits at the mobile phone division.
Mobilehandsetsoncecontributed 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 per cent year-on-year. — AFP