Spiking smartphone sales lead Samsung to record-breaking Q3
Samsung reported its quarterly results for the July-September 2020 period and the numbers look promising. The revenue is KRW66.96 trillion which is the highest ever in the history of the company, while the operating profit is KRW12.35 trillion - a 52% increase from the previous three-month period and 59% better than last year.
| Q3 2020 Guidance KRW / USD | Q2 2020 Results KRW / USD | Q3 2019 Results KRW / USD | |
| Sales | 66.96 trillion / 59 billion | 52.97 trillion / 46.72 billion | 62 trillion / 54.69 billion |
| Operating Profit | 12.35 trillion / 10.89 billion | 8.15 trillion / 7.18 billion | 7.78 trillion / 6.86 billion |
The smartphone business saw a 50% jump in sales. Samsung was able to improve its cost management and lower its offline promotion expenditure, leading to better earnings than the previous three-month period. It also helped that people felt more comfortable with investing in a mobile device during the summer.
The Consumer Electronics Division also saw a growth in sales of TVs and appliances, PC demands rose, sales of laptops were also strong. The memory business, Samsungâs golden hen, also performed well - for NAND, mobile manufacturers kept launching new models so the sales were going on; while for DRAM smartphones will boost profit but server demand will offset it with expected weak performance.
Samsungâs predictions for 2021 are that mobile demand will keep going up for at least the first half of the year because of the expansion of 5G network and availability. However, Bloomberg added in a report that the death of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee and the trial against his son Jay Y. Lee for bribery will add to the uncertainty about the companyâs performance in the future.
The manufacturer also declined to comment on how the family will pay billions of dollars in inheritance tax - reports are the amount is nearly $10 billion.