Samsung Electronics expected to log biggest quarterly operating profit since 2018 in Q3

2020-10-08 1

삼성전자 3분기 영업이익 12조 3천억원…작년 동기 대비 58.1% 상승

South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics not only beat market expectations in its guidance for the third quarter, but also posted its largest operating profit in two years.
It also expects its third quarter sales to hit an all-time high.
Eum Ji-young has more.
Samsung Electronics, in its guidance for the third quarter, has reported its largest operating profit in two years.
According to the company's earnings guidance on Thursday, it expects to make more than ( 1) 10-point-six billion U.S. dollars in operating profit for the July to September period.
( 2) That's a whopping 58 percent jump from what it posted during the same period last year.
It's Samsung's first quarterly operating profit to top 10 trillion won or eight-point-six billion dollars since the fourth quarter of 2018,... the period deemed as the boom time for the global semiconductor industry.
The report also forecast third quarter sales to be around 57 billion dollars,... an all-time high for a three-month period.
"The company's improved semiconductor business performance, strong sales of premium products and enhanced marketing strategies for smartphones and TVs might have helped Samsung post such high earnings."
Samsung's marketing expenses have dropped as costs for operating offline stores have declined as online sales jumped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Solid global sales of Samsung's latest smartphone series also contributed to the strong earnings.
The analyst also said the new U.S. sanctions on Chinese tech giant Huawei have benefited Samsung in terms of smartphone sales.
However, earnings in the fourth quarter are expected to drop.
"In the fourth quarter, marketing expenses are forecast to rise and performance in the semiconductor sector is forecast to decline compared to the third quarter."
But he added that semiconductor prices are expected to rise in the first half of 2021 and thus a more positive performance is forecast.
Eum Ji-young, Arirang News.