SEOUL, Oct 29 ― Samsung Electronics reported today its net profit grew 48.8 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, as its mobile and chip businesses were boosted by US sanctions against its Chinese rival Huawei.
The world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker said profits in the July-to-September period were 9.36 trillion won (RM34.5 billion).
Operating profit rose 58.7 per cent to 12.35 trillion won, while sales were also up 8 per cent at 66.96 trillion won.
The firm is the flagship subsidiary of the giant Samsung Group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in the world's 12th largest economy, and it is crucial to South Korea's economic health.
The figures come a day after the burial of late chairman Lee Kun-hee ― who turned the firm into a global powerhouse ― and as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc with the world economy.
However, the South returned to growth in the third quarter, driven by a better-than-expected exports performance.
Analysts say Samsung's rollout of its latest premium handset devices ― the Galaxy Note 20 and the Galaxy Z Fold 2 ― in August, coupled with strong sales of mid-range phones, led the firm's third-quarter performance.
A US ban on foreign companies providing Huawei with US-origin technology, which came into effect on September 15 ― cutting off essential supplies of semiconductors and software needed for making smartphones and 5G equipment ― also provided a boost.
“Samsung has been quite aggressive in new launches as well as channel strategies, riding on the ongoing anti-China sentiment,” Prachir Singh, a senior analyst at market observer Counterpoint, told AFP.
Samsung's overall turnover is equivalent to a fifth of South Korea's gross domestic product. ― AFP
