SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korean telecom giant Samsung Electronics on Friday flagged a 5.2 percent rise in second quarter operating profit from a year earlier, missing analyst estimates.
Operating profit is expected to come to 14.8 trillion won ($13.2 billion) for the April-June period, higher than the 14.07 trillion won in the same period in 2017, but down from the record 15.64 trillion won of the previous quarter.
The forecast came at the low end of market consensus, which averaged at 15.3 trillion won.
“It’s a bit disappointing,” Ko Gyeong-beom at Yuanta Securities Korea told AFP, noting the company had posted expectation-beating operating profits for several quarters.
Sales are estimated at 58 trillion won, down 4.9 percent from 61 trillion won a year earlier.
Industry sources said sales of smartphones were weak amid mounting competition from rivals as marketing costs for new mobile products also increased, undercutting the sector’s profitability.
Weak LCD display prices are also blamed for the disappointing results, they said.
© Agence France-Presse
