The Samsung logo can be seen on an Android mobile phone.
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SINGAPORE – Samsung Electronics said Friday that operating profit for the quarter ended December is likely to have increased 26% from a year ago to Korean Won 9 trillion ($ 8.22 billion).
It was largely in line with analysts’ estimate of 9.1 trillion won, according to Refinitiv SmartEstimate.
Shares of Samsung Electronics in South Korea are up 7.12% on Friday.
The company said fourth quarter consolidated sales were likely to be 61 trillion won, almost 2% more than a year earlier. Samsung has not broken down how each business unit performed, including the main profitable semiconductor businesses.
Full December quarter results are expected later this month.
Korean won and smartphone sales
According to Daniel Kim, senior research analyst at Macquarie Equities Research, Samsung’s guidance fell short of analysts’ expectations for two reasons.
“One, strong Korean won against (a) a few major currencies like the US dollar and the euro,” he said Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.” The other reason is “disappointing” smartphone sales, which have been erratic for the past few quarters, Kim said.
But the analyst is optimistic about the stocks. He pointed out that memory chip prices will change this quarter, with average sales prices expected to rise – that would benefit the semiconductor business.
“The duration of the memory recovery is probably much longer than many people think. That’s why I feel very comfortable with my outperform rating on the stock,” said Kim, adding that Samsung is “one of the cheapest semiconductor stocks in the world. world continues. “
Both operating income and consolidated sales were down quarter-on-quarter, based on Friday’s expectations.