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Samsung Electronics reported better than expected results for the third quarter thanks to bright performance in its semiconductor division. By overcoming tough business conditions, including a price slump, the company's semiconductor head Hang Chang-kyu has proved his value yet again.
Korea's largest electronics maker on Friday announced record sales of W16.68 trillion and operating profits of W2.07 trillion for the July-September period, much more than the W1.7 trillion average forecast by securities firms.
The results should provide a boost for the entire Samsung Group, which has been dealing with a restructuring and a projected crisis. In the previous quarter it posted just W910 billion in operating profits.
The semiconductor business accounted for almost half of the company's third-quarter operating profits with W920 billion, a big increase from W330 billion in the second quarter and W540 billion in the first.
The achievement is all the more significant because of the firm's troubles in the quarter: its plant in Giheung suffered a power outage in August and the price of D-RAM plunged in September. The division announced that it would increase its investment this year to W6.84 trillion, up by W1.4 trillion over its initial plan.
The mobile phone division also performed well with record quarterly sales of 42.6 million handsets. The average selling price of a handset increased from US$148 in the second quarter to $151, and operating income rose by 4 percentage points to 12 percent. This helped allay concerns over deteriorating profitability due to growth of the budget handset market.
The liquid crystal display business also played a part in the rebound, posting operating profits of W670 billion, the highest since the third quarter of 2004.
Samsung's digital media business suffered losses in Korea with most business including production and sales taking place overseas. But with overseas numbers included, it gained W240 billion in operating income.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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