Pictured: Samsung Mobile CEO JK Shin
Consumer electronics giant Samsung expects the trend of operating profit declines to continue into the first quarter, forecasting an operating profit of US$5.3bn, which is down 30pc year-on-year.
Samsung expects revenues of US$43.3bn for the first quarter, down 12pc on last year.
The news comes as Taiwanese rival HTC continues a second quarter of profit after three years of losses.
It also comes as Samsung’s rivals in China such as Huawei, Xiaomi and OnePlus are in the ascendency.
The company is betting its recovery with the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge devices, which were received with acclaim at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month.
The new devices go on sale on 10 April in the UK and Ireland.
However, ahead of the new devices’ arrival the S6 and S6 Edge have become ensnared in the latest #Bendgate claims by Square Trade.
At the Mobile World Congress, Samsung’s head of global marketing Younghee Lee said the phones weren’t likely to bend as had been claimed about the Apple iPhone 6 Plus.
But according to Square Trade’s stress tests the new S6 bends under pressure.
This has prompted Samsung to take the unusual step of producing its own video and detailed response to the allegations.
JK Shin image via Shutterstock
