Samsung predicts $5.23 billion operating profit for first-quarter. On Tuesday, South Korean company Samsung said that its operating profit is expected to rise three percent to 6.4 trillion won ($5.23 billion) from a year ago and surpass expectations.
The company expects a 2.7% hike from the 6.23 trillion won it posted for the same period a year earlier. Estimates gathered by S&P Global Market Intelligence show that analysts had forecast about be 6.2 trillion ($5.05 billion) won.
The tech giant said its first-quarter revenue was approximately 55 trillion won, jumped nearly 5% from a year ago.
Samsung is one of the first major tech companies to post earnings results for the January-March quarter amid the coronavirus outbreak. However, growing demand for memory chips and the company’s cost-saving efforts are expected to drive its earnings. The company’s shares increased by 1.85% on the day.
SK Kim, executive director and analyst at Daiwa Securities said that due to coronavirus pandemic, many people are being forced to work from home and they are purchasing products online. Therefore, data centers are experiencing increasing demand for memory chips.
Kim said, “This will continue to drive memory price high in the second quarter, which will offset weakness on the mobile as well as the TV (business).”
Samsung’s main profit-making business runs on memory components used in smartphones and data centers. The estimates show that the company accounts for about 65% of the company’s total profit. Now, Samsung is again expecting solid earnings in its semiconductor business for the second quarter.
Helene Elliott is the senior reporter for News Raise. She covers Science news. She also has a keen interest in photojournalism. Helene holds a nomination for the prestigious Red Smith Award. She is married to author Dennis D’Agostino, a former publicist with the New York Mets.
