South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (SSNLF) reported late Thursday a profit for the fourth quarter that nearly doubled from last year as strong sales of its flagship Galaxy S3 smartphone and Galaxy Note 2 phablet more than offset a slump in its display panel and appliances business. Sales and operating profit for the quarter came in line with Samsung’s guidance released earlier in the month.
Samsung said in a statement that it would keep 2013 investment at a similar level to 2012, despite a bleak PC outlook, while analysts were looking for 4 to 20 percent cut in its capital spending in 2013. The company has increased its capital spending every year since 2004, except 2009.
Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung has hit a new record in operating profit for the fifth consecutive quarter, and its quarterly sales have breached the 50 trillion won mark for the second time. Samsung’s mobile business has accounted for nearly 63 percent of the operating profit.
Samsung has reportedly beaten rival US technology giant Apple, Inc. (AAPL: Quote) hands down in fourth-quarter smartphone shipments, selling about 63 million units globally, higher than the 47.8 million iPhones sold by Apple. However, Apple is seen to narrow the gap in recent quarters.
The launch of new smartphones running on Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) new Windows operating system will continue to boost Samsung’s semiconductor business with higher sales of high-margin mobile chips. However, demand for memory chips in the first quarter would be tempered by seasonably poor sales of PCs and mobile devices.
The world’s largest technology firm by revenue reported a record net profit of 7.04 trillion won or $6.6 billion for the fourth quarter, up 76 percent from 4.01 trillion won in the prior-year quarter, and higher than 6.56 trillion won in the preceding third quarter.
Total sales for the quarter increased 19 percent to 56.06 trillion won from last year’s 47.30 trillion won, and also grew from 52.18 trillion won in the prior quarter.
Total operating profit surged 89 percent to 8.84 trillion won, with operating margin expanding 460 basis points to 15.8 percent from a year ago. Operating profit increased across all operating segments of the company.
Earlier in the month, Samsung had estimated fourth-quarter sales of about 56 trillion won, with an operating profit of about 8.80 trillion won.
Quarterly sales at Samsung’s telecommunication division surged 51 percent to 31.32 trillion won, with 58 percent growth in mobiles sales. The company increased Galaxy Note II sales due to upgraded pen function and enhanced mid/low-end line up. However, competition intensified with new smartphone and tablet launches amid strong seasonality.
Sales at the semiconductor division, once the main source of income for the company, grew 5 percent to 9.59 trillion won despite an industry-wide slump, with memory sales dropping 2 percent. Though PC DRAM demand continued to be soft, NAND demand continued to be strong due to new mobile device launches and seasonality.
Meanwhile, display panel division’s sales declined 9 percent to 7.75 trillion won, with LCD panel sales dropping 21 percent, as TV panel shipment declined in the low-10 percentage from last year. However, sales of OLED panels increased amid increased sales of high-end panels for premium smartphone.
Digital media and appliances division sales edged down 1 percent, with visual devices sales dropping 3 percent.
For fiscal 2012, the company reported a record net profit of 23.85 trillion won, up 73 percent from 13.76 trillion won in the prior year. Total sales for the full year increased 22 percent to 201.10 trillion won from last year’s 165.0 trillion won.
Samsung shares are currently trading down 16,000 won or 1.10% in Friday’s regular trading session at 1,437,000 won on the Kospi on a volume of 79,046 million shares.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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