Samsung to reap record profit in Q4
By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Electronics is expected to again post record operating profit for the fourth quarter of last year on the back of robust smartphones sales and a rebound in its chip business, according to market analysts and company officials.
They said that the world’s biggest smartphone maker is looking for record quarterly operating profit of $8.5 billion (9 trillion won) during the October-December period.
Samsung Electronics mobile chief Shin Jong-kyun said the firm is aiming to have sold more than 40 million Galaxy SIIIs in 2012 from its earlier prediction of 35 million. Samsung released the device in September.
The company reported 7.58 trillion won in operating profit in the third quarter in a regulatory filing.
``We earlier thought that Samsung’s fourth-quarter profit would likely fall from the third quarter’s record level amid higher marketing costs and fiercer competition. But we believe the firm may set a fresh record for the last quarter of 2012,’’ said a Samsung official, requesting anonymity.
Samsung will issue guidance for its financial performance for the last quarter in early January, ahead of a fuller earnings report due later this month.
``Overall revenue is expected to continue to grow. We will need to wait for more details. But I can definitely say that the Galaxy line of devices will boost profits,’’ said Daishin Securities analyst Kang Jeong-won.
The local brokerage said Samsung had shipped 8 percent more Galaxy Note II phablets in the latest quarter from the previous quarter. The Korean technology heavyweight is forecast to reap 9.05 trillion won in operating profit during the last three months of 2012.
Shinyoung Securities was the most bullish, with a profit outlook of 9.1 trillion won for the company’s fourth-quarter profit, followed by TongYang Securities with 9.05 trillion won, Mirae Asset Securities with 9.04 trillion won, Dongbu Securities with 9.01 trillion won and IBK Investment with 9 trillion won.
The recent median forecast of Samsung’s fourth quarter profit by local financial tracker FN Guide was 8.43 trillion won. The figure is up 11.2 percent from the third quarter.
``Despite deepening legal battles with Apple, Samsung will write a new record in the fourth quarter in profit buoyed by higher sales of its flagship products such as the Galaxy SIII, Galaxy Note II and Galaxy Tab,’’ said Lim Dol-yi, an analyst at Shinyoung.
Smartphones are also boosting the company’s semiconductor business. Samsung shipped 293 million mobile application processors (APs) in 2012, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA).
Mobile APs are being used in everything from smartphones, tablets and Web-connected TVs. SA believes Samsung has risen as the top producer of mobile APs after passing Qualcomm in terms of shipments.
``It’s no exaggeration to say that our semiconductor division is recovering on a steeper curve. Rising shipments for mobile APs amid explosive growth for smartphones and tablets is helping Samsung strengthen its bottom line,’’ said the Samsung official.
In the first nine months of last year, Samsung earned 16.8 trillion won, beating the 16.2 trillion won profit it garnered in 2011, its highest-ever annual profit.