Samsung sees record profit of $14B in Q4
seoul — South Korean telecom giant Samsung Electronics expects to post a record operating profit of more than $14 billion in the fourth quarter, it said on Tuesday, boosted by huge demand for its memory chips.
The booming chip unit has helped the firm overcome a bribery scandal that saw its de facto head jailed and the embarrassing Galaxy Note 7 debacle.
Samsung estimated operating profits would hit 15.1 trillion won ($14.1 billion) in October-December, nearly double the 9.2 trillion won posted a year earlier. However, the figure was below analyst forecasts, which averaged 16.1 trillion won in a survey by Bloomberg News.
Full-year operating profit was projected at 53.6 trillion won — also a record. Samsung was dealt a blow in August when Lee Jae-yong was jailed after being found guilty of bribery, perjury and other charges relating to payments made by Samsung to ousted president Park Geun-hye’s secret confidante. Lee is appealing his five-year sentence and says he is innocent.
That came after a damaging recall in 2016 of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 over exploding batteries, which cost Samsung billions of dollars and dealt a blow to its global reputation.
But the travails have not impacted demand for Samsung Electronics’ products.
Fourth-quarter sales were projected to have jumped 23.8 per cent year on year to 66 trillion won, with full sales estimated at 239.6 trillion won.