Analysts predict Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is likely to post its highest first-quarter profit since 2018. This was driven by rapid gains in memory chips as solid demand helped keep prices stronger than expected.
The South Korean tech giant will announce the preliminary results on Thursday (7/4).
According to Refinitiv SmartEstimate of 13 analysts, operating profit for the biggest smartphone and memory chip maker likely reached 13.3 trillion won, equivalent to $10.9 billion in the quarter ended March.
That would be up 41 percent from 9.38 trillion won a year earlier and the highest profit for a relatively sluggish first quarter since 2018.
Meanwhile, Samsung's chip profit in the period is likely to reach 7.6 trillion won, more than double the previous year's 3.37 trillion won, according to the average forecast of six analysts. Its chip business accounts for about half of the tech giant's profits.
"Solid chip demand from data centers, chipmakers' conservative investment to withstand falling prices, and sales of high-end products have limited the decline in memory chip prices," said Doh Hyun-woo, analyst at NH Investment & Securities. 4).
Samsung's mobile business profit is expected to reach 4.04 trillion won according to the median forecast of six analysts, slightly down from the previous year's 4.39 trillion won but above its mobile profit over the same period 2017-2020.
Samsung released its flagship smartphone Galaxy S22 in February, which likely sold around 8 million units during the first quarter according to Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities.
Samsung has the largest smartphone market share in Russia at around 30%, but Roh said stopping shipments there would have little impact as Russia and Ukraine only account for about 2% of Samsung's total, and this would be offset by sales to other countries.
As is well known, Samsung's shipments to Russia have stopped after the invasion of Ukraine, although services such as Samsung Pay continue to be offered in Russia.
Samsung shares have fallen about 12% this year, hurt by concerns over the impact of the Ukraine crisis on global technology device demand and concerns about low output at its cutting-edge contract chip manufacturing operation.
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