Samsung apprehands further decline in quarterly profits

AFP, Seoul :
Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it expected fourth-quarter operating profit to drop by more than a third, as the company struggles with weak demand for consumer electronics.

The South Korean tech giant said in a statement that it forecast profit to come in at 2.8 trillion won ($2.1 billion) for October-December, down 35 percent on-year.

Sales revenue was also seen falling 4.9 percent to 67 trillion won.

Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone maker and the flagship subsidiary of Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

South Korean chipmakers, led by Samsung, have enjoyed record profits in recent years as prices of their products soared, but the global economic slowdown has dealt a blow to memory chip sales.