Samsung saw its profits fall sharply in the third quarter: in particular, the lower prices of memory chips and the trade war between the United States and China affected the electronics company.
Sharp fall in profits
In the third quarter, Samsung Electronics achieved a turnover of 62 trillion South Korean won (47 billion euros), representing a decrease of 5.3 % compared to the same period last year. Operating profit fell by more than half, from 17.57 to 7.78 trillion South Korean won (6 billion euros).
The Consumer Electronics division experienced growth of 7 %, which was driven mainly by strong sales of large QLED TVs. Due to increasing competition (and lower margins), the profit here was slightly lower than a year ago. The mobile division saw its turnover increase by 17 % and its profits by 32 % as the Note 10 and A-Series did very well. Samsung has high expectations for the further roll-out of 5G devices over the coming year.
The ‘Device Solutions’ department (which includes memory chips) had to shoulder a heavy blow: turnover fell by 23 % and profits by no less than 71 % due to the very low price of memory chips.
