Samsung's Q4 net sinks 38 pct on memory chip slump

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its fourth-quarter net profit dropped 38.2 percent compared with a year ago as an extended slump in the memory chip sector weighed on its bottom line.

The world's leading memory chip and smartphone manufacturer said its net income stood at 5.23 trillion won (US$4.4 billion) in the October-December period, compared with 8.46 trillion won a year earlier.

Its operating profit slid 33.7 percent on-year to 7.16 trillion won in the fourth quarter, but sales rose 1.05 percent to 59.88 trillion won over the cited period.

The figures were in line with the earnings guidance announced earlier this month.

For 2019, Samsung posted a net income of 21.74 trillion won, down 51 percent from a year ago, as a slowdown in the global economy, sparked by the U.S.-China trade war, ended a two-year boom in the memory chip market, where the company earns the majority of its entire profit.

Samsung's operating profit in 2019 stood at 27.76 trillion won, marking a 52.8 percent on-year drop and the lowest since 2015, when the comparable figure was 26.4 trillion won.

Its revenue reached 230.4 trillion won last year, a 5.5 percent fall from 2018, and the lowest since 2016, when the company logged 201.8 trillion won.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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