Samsung Electronics flags record Q3 operating profit

SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung Electronics flagged Friday a third-quarter operating profit of 17.5 trillion won ($15.4 billion), a record for any-three month period, led by solid demand for its memory chips used in mobile devices.

Sales for July to September are expected to reach 65 trillion won, the world’s largest maker of smartphones and memory chips said in a regulatory filing.

The earnings forecast from the South Korean electronics giant beat market consensus of about 17.1 trillion won according to market researcher FnGuide, with analysts expecting a jump in profits on a strong performance by the company’s semiconductor unit.

The third-quarter operating profit was up 20.4% from a year ago while sales jumped by 4.7%.

Samsung Electronics has seen profits soar in recent years largely thanks to solid demand for memory chips for mobile devices which has helped offset weakening profits from its own mobile production.

The mobile unit suffered a heavy blow after a damaging worldwide recall of its Galaxy Note 7 devices over exploding batteries two years ago, which cost the firm billions of dollars.

Samsung is also facing mounting competition from Apple and Chinese rivals and is looking for ways to boost momentum in a sluggish smartphone market.

But the firm unveiled its latest Galaxy Note 9 model in August which has received favorable reviews and is due to launch a new line up of its flagship Galaxy devices later this month.

Samsung withholds net profit and sector-by-sector business performance until it releases its final earnings report, which is expected later this month. – Rappler.com