Samsung Electronics recorded its biggest operating profit in the third quarter. It had positive performance due to the booming semiconductor industry and increased sales of OLED panels for smartphones.
Samsung Electronics made an announcement on Oct. 31 that its operating profit on the consolidated base in the third quarter was 17.57 trillion won, up 20.93 percent from the third quarter of last year.
During the same period, its sales reached 65.46 trillion won, a 5.5 percent increase from the third quarter of last year. Compared to the second quarter of this year, operating profit and sales increased by 18.2% and 11.93%, respectively. Its operating profit was the biggest quarterly operating profit, and its sales were second after the fourth quarter of last year (65.98 trillion won).
Its third quarter performance was led by parts businesses such as memory and OLED panels. While the memory semiconductor business is continuing to boom, semiconductor yields and productivity have improved due to refinement of processes. The performance of display business has improved greatly compared to the second quarter due to increase in the operating rate of flexible OLEDs.
The IM (IT & Mobile) sector was weak. Due to intensified competition in low and medium-priced products, its overall sales of smartphones were at a level in the previous quarter and profits were reduced due to increased promotion costs following the market debut of new products such as Galaxy Note 9. Because increased sales of premium TVs such as QLED and super-large ones, operating profit in the CE (Consumer Electronics) sector has improved, compared to the same period of last year.
Samsung Electronics is predicting that its performance in the fourth quarter will drop compared to the previous quarter owing to slowing semiconductor market. However, its display performance is expected to be solid as demands from major OLED customers continue.
