Samsung Q4 profit down

seoul — Samsung Electronics surprised the market on Tuesday with an estimated 29 per cent drop in quarterly profit, blaming weak chip demand in a rare commentary issued to “ease confusion” among investors already fretting about a global tech slowdown.

The South Korean firm also said profit would remain subdued in the first quarter due to difficult conditions in memory chips, but that the market is likely to improve in the second half of the year as customers release new smartphones.

Weaker earnings at the world’s biggest maker of smartphones and semiconductors adds to worries for investors already on edge after Apple last week took the rare move of cutting its quarterly sales forecast, citing poor iPhone sales in China.

China boasts the world’s biggest smartphone market, but a slowing economy, exacerbated by a trade war with the United States, has seen demand for gadgets drop across the tech sector. Growing support for domestic champions has also impacted foreign brands, with Samsung’s market share falling to 0.9 per cent from a high of 18.2 per cent in 2013.

Still, the firm’s chips power the handsets of most major makers, including Apple and China’s market leader Huawei Technologies. Its memory and processor chips account for over three-quarters of overall profit and about 38 per cent of sales.