On Tuesday, Samsung Electronics Co. reported a 77.6% year-on-year decline in operating profit to 2.43 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) for the July-September period, due to an economic slowdown. However, its semiconductor business saw a reduction in losses, buoyed by the rising demand for premium memory chips.
The South Korean tech giant’s total sales fell 12.2% to 67.4 trillion won, while net income tumbled 37.8% to 5.84 trillion won. The operating profit was 32.6% higher than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax.
In this file photo taken July 26, 2023, Roh Tae-moon, president and head of Samsung Electronics’ mobile division, introduces the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Fold 5 during the Galaxy Unpacked event in Seoul. (Yonhap)
Samsung’s Device Solutions division, which includes its chip business, reported losses of 3.75 trillion won, its third consecutive quarter of losses. The chip business’ cumulative losses for 2023 amounted to 12.7 trillion won.
However, the memory chip business saw a decrease in losses due to the increased sales of high bandwidth memory and double data rate 5 products. Also, the company has received a number of purchasing inquiries from customers.
The mobile division posted 44.2 trillion won in sales and 3.7 trillion won in operating profit, thanks to strong sales of its new foldable smartphones, such as the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Fold 5.