Samsung Electronics net surges

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest technology firm by revenue, reported Friday more than a six-fold increase in first-quarter net income, saying it will revise up its capital investment to meet rising demand.

Net profit reached 3.99 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in the three months ended March 31, compared with 582.2 billion won a year ago, the Suwon, South Korea-based company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales increased 20.8 percent on-year to 34.64 trillion won, while operating profit surged more than seven-fold from a year ago to 4.41 trillion won, thanks to a hike in chip prices.

The figures include results from Samsung's overseas subsidiaries. The 2009 results were revised under the International Financial Reporting Standards, which the company adopted this year.

The earnings, which came in at the upper range of Samsung's guidance released earlier this month, cheered investor sentiment. Shares of Samsung Electronics closed at 849,000 won on the Seoul bourse, up 2.91 percent from Thursday's close.