Samsung's Net Income Rose 53% on Chip-Price Gains, Cellphone Sales
Friday April 19, 1:19 am Eastern Time
biz.yahoo.com
SEOUL , South Korea -- Led by a recovery in semiconductor prices and robust sales of mobile phones, Samsung Electronics Co .'s the first-quarter net income surged 53% to its all-time quarterly high of 1.9 trillion won ($1.45 billion).
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Samsung, the world's largest producer of memory chips and third-largest maker of mobile phones, said sales also rose 15% on year to a record high of 9.9 trillion won. The company said that the quarterly sales figure is the largest ever reported by a South Korean company.
The earnings exceeded analysts' estimates, which ranged from 1.3 trillion won to 1.5 trillion won.
Samsung's first-quarter pretax profit of 2.41 trillion won, a historic high, was up 56% on year, while its operating profit rose 31% to 2.1 trillion won. The company's earnings were fueled by brisk sales of mobile phones.
Sales from the telecommunications division, which primarily makes mobile phones, rose 56% on year to 2.97 trillion won. The division's operating profit more than tripled to 800 billion won from 231 billion won a year earlier as demand for color-screen phones, which have higher profit margins, rose sharply during the period. |
