The Samsung Galaxy SIII smartphone
Solid sales of the Galaxy SIII smartphone and the Galaxy Note II ‘phablet’ drove a fourth-quarter net profit of 7.04trn won (US$6.58bn) on sales of 56trn won (US$52.6bn), up 19pc on a year earlier for smartphone maker Samsung Electronics.
The South Korean company sold an estimated 63m smartphones in the three-month period ending 31 December 2012, causing profits to soar 76pc from the previous year.
Operating profit in the company’s mobile phone division totalled 5.44trn won (US$5.06bn), up from 2.56trn won (US$2.38bn) a year earlier.
Consolidated operating profit for the quarter hit 8.84trn won (US$8.3bn), representing a 10pc increase from the previous quarter.
Samsung’s full-year operating profit for 2012 reached 29.05trn won (US$27.2bn) on revenue of 201.10trn won (US$188.1bn).
“Despite uncertainties in Europe and concerns over the US fiscal cliff creating a difficult business environment, we did our best this quarter to achieve strong earnings based on a strategic focus on differentiated and high value-added products, as well as our technological competitiveness,” said Robert Yi, senior vice-president and head of Investor Relations.
“Heading into this year, we are expecting a slow recovery in the component business due to reduced capital expenditures, while competition in the set business will intensify further as demand slows and the mid- to low-end market expands,” he added.
Yi also expressed caution over the continued strength of the Korean won in 2013.
