South Korea’s Samsung Electronics yesterday estimated it made a record quarterly operating profit of US$3.5 billion from July to last month.
The company, the world’s top maker of memory chips and flat TV screens, said in a statement it estimates consolidated operating profit for the third quarter at 4.1 trillion won (US$3.5 billion).
This would exceed its previous record quarterly operating profit of 4 trillion won in the first quarter in 2004. It compares with 1.48 trillion in the third quarter of last year.
Consolidated sales for the third quarter are estimated at 36 trillion won, up from 30.27 trillion a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
Company spokeswoman Lee Soo-jeong said Samsung could not comment on reasons behind the expected third-quarter performance.
Analysts cited improving business conditions such as rising prices for memory chips and liquid-crystal displays, combined with continued firm performances by the company’s other businesses and weakness in the Korean won against the Japanese yen as positive factors.
They expect earnings growth to slow in the current quarter due to the strengthening won and seasonally higher marketing costs.
Samsung will announce its official quarterly earnings on Oct. 30.
“Samsung Electronics’ outlook looks good,” said Lee Kyoung-min, an analyst at Woori Investment and Securities. “But the guidance comes in line with expectations, so it’s not a surprise.”
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