Samsung sees record sales in Q3 on strong chip biz

By Joo Kyung-don

SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday it expected to post record sales in the third quarter of the year, apparently buoyed by its semiconductor business.

In its earnings guidance, the South Korean tech giant estimated its sales at 73 trillion won (US$61.2 billion) for the July-September period, up 9 percent from a year ago.

Samsung also projected third-quarter operating profit at 15.8 trillion won, up 27.9 percent from a year earlier.

Should the preliminary earnings results stand, its sales will be the largest for any quarter to date, while the operating profit will be the second largest after the third quarter of 2018.

However, its third-quarter operating income estimate missed the market consensus of 16.2 trillion won in a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency that compiled data from 13 local brokerage houses. Its preliminary sales figure is also below the market consensus of 74.8 trillion won.

On a quarterly basis, Samsung's third-quarter operating profit estimate was up 25.7 percent from the second quarter, while that of sales was up 14.6 percent from the previous quarter.

Samsung, the world's leading memory chip and smartphone vendor, did not break down performances of its respective business divisions, saying it will announce the detailed earnings later this month.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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