Seoul: Samsung Electronics said yesterday that net profit almost doubled to a record 6.6 trillion won ($5.97bn) in the third quarter, powered by strong smartphone sales and huge demand for display panels.
The world’s largest technology firm by revenue also saw a record operating profit in July-September of 8.12 trillion won, up 91 percent from the same period last year. Samsung said its mobile communications business took in 26.25 trillion won in revenue for the quarter, accounting for more than half the company’s total.
“The business environment remained difficult with global economic uncertainties persisting amid the fiscal concerns in the US and Europe,” said Samsung Senior Vice President Robert Yi.
The third quarter net profit figure was well up from the 3.4 trillion won net profit posted a year ago and beat the previous record of 5.19 trillion won set in April-June. Sales surged 26.4 percent on-year to an all-time high of 52.2 trillion won.
Analysts expect the technology giant to see a marginal fall in income in the final quarter, as sales to retailers peak in the third quarter ahead of the holiday season and technology companies ramp up spending on marketing for the year-end rush.
The company said its display panel business helped drive its record, with a 1.1 trillion won operating profit in the third quarter, compared to a 90 billion won loss the previous year.
Increasing demand for panels for smartphones and other high valued-added products, such as LED panels for TVs and LCD panels for tablets, offset weak demand for laptop and monitor panels.
Samsung’s operating profits have risen every quarter since the first three months of 2011, as booming smartphone sales helped it leapfrog Apple as the world’s biggest maker of the devices.
According to research firm IDC, Samsung sold 56.3 million smartphones in July-September, representing 31.3 percent of the global market, more than twice the 15 percent share taken by Apple. The bitter rivals are currently involved in a legal duel being fought in 10 countries over alleged patent infringements.
AFP
