The world's biggest memory-chip maker 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, Asia's fourth largest economy.
The conglomerate is crucial to the South's economic health -
its overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of the national gross domestic
product.
The firm said net profit in the January-to-March period was
KRW 11.32 trillion - up 58.57 percent from the same period year earlier.
The tech industry has been hit hard by a shortage of
components for chipmaking, blamed on a boom in global demand for electronic
products and disruption to supply chains caused by the pandemic.
But analysts say this has largely been benefitting the
world's leading chipmaker.
Last year saw a surge in chip prices amid strong demand for
those used in personal devices and data centres, helping the firm hit record
annual sales.
Samsung's performance "continues to be lifted by the
semiconductor segment, supported by memory chip - both DRAM and NAND - demand
from data centers," Gloria Tsuen, vice president of Moody's Investors
Service, told AFP.
Tsuen added that a disruption at a rival NAND flash chip
plant - owned by American firm Western Digital and Japan's Kioxia - has also
benefited Samsung "due to reduced market supply".
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