Samsung says profits probably increased, but smartphone competition is fierce

Samsung says profits probably increased, but smartphone competition is fierce

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The South Korean conglomerate said on Friday that it expects to record operating profit of around 9 trillion Korean won ($ 8.2 billion) for the October-December quarter, an increase compared to the same period last year, but a little out of analysts’ estimates.

Samsung reports abundant profits but warns of recession

The company forecast sales of around 61 trillion Korean won ($ 56 billion), in line with the expectations of analysts heard by Refinitiv.

Samsung (SSNLF) shares rose about 1.8% in Seoul on Friday.

The company did not provide details on the profit, but will release the full fourth quarter results later this month.

While demand for some of Samsung’s electronics and other components, such as display panels, is likely to remain solid, the company faces strong competition in the smartphone market. Chinese rival Huawei briefly overtook Samsung last year to become number 1 in smartphone sales in the world, while Apple has just launched a 5G-compatible iPhone.

Even so, analysts expect gains in 2021 to be strong, as sales of smartphones and memory chips increase. Daiwa analyst SK Kim pointed to the upcoming launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21 as a plus.

“We see [Samsung] the launch of the Galaxy S series, its flagship line, before the end of January 2021, which we believe will drive a strong recovery in shipping smartphones, “wrote Kim in a research note earlier this week.

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