The world's biggest smartphone maker
forecast 2022 first-quarter operating profits of about 14.1 trillion won ($11.6
billion), up from 9.4 trillion won in the same quarter last year.
Samsung did not provide details on the
performance of its various divisions. The company is expected to release its
full results on April 28.
Analysts said the forecast was likely
driven by strong smartphone sales, but warned of an expected drop in profits in
the memory chip division.
"Price decline in memory chips will be
contained on the back of stronger than expected demand," Kim Un-ho, an
analyst at IBK Investment & Securities, said in a report.
Profits in Samsung's mobile business are
expected to soar by 55.8 percent compared with Q4, to over 4.1 trillion won,
offsetting an anticipated six percent decline in profits from its memory chips
division, the report said.
With memory chips now used in a
wide-ranging array of devices and cloud servers -- essential for remote working
in the pandemic era -- the sector has become less dependent on
seasonally-driven demand for gadgets such as smartphones and laptops.
Last year saw a surge in chip prices amid
strong demand for those used in personal devices and data centres, helping
Samsung hit record annual sales.
Going forward, Kim forecast the
conglomerate would make 60.5 trillion won in operating profits for 2022
overall, a 17 percent increase on-year.
Smartphone app
But Samsung's smartphones division was in
hot water in its native South Korea recently over a pre-installed app called
Game Optimizations Service on the latest Galaxy S phone lineup.
Designed to fine-tune system performances,
it was found to actually throttle the speed of up to 10,000 apps.
The issue forced Samsung's vice chairman,
Han Jong-hee, to apologise at a shareholders' meeting last month, and prompted
a class action by nearly 2,000 consumers seeking 300,000 won in compensation
each.
While the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked
havoc on the world economy, it has helped many tech companies boom.
The shift to working from home during the
pandemic has boosted demand for devices powered by Samsung's chips as well as
home appliances such as televisions and washing machines.
The world's biggest memory chip maker,
Samsung Electronics has aggressively stepped up investment in its semiconductor
business as the world battles chip shortages that have hit everything from cars
and home appliances to smartphones and gaming consoles.
In November, it announced a new microchip
factory in Texas, a $17 billion investment. The plant is expected to be
operational by the end of 2024.
The firm is also investing in the
development of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics
and 5G/6G communications.
Samsung Electronics is the flagship
subsidiary of the giant Samsung group, by far the largest of the
family-controlled empires known as chaebols that dominate business in South
Korea.
The conglomerate's overall turnover is
equivalent to about one-fifth of South Korea's gross domestic product.
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