Samsung Electronics, the world’s leading consumer electronics manufacturer, has seen its profits surge 76 percent in the last quarter’s financial results ending December 2012, on account of the strong sales of its Galaxy smartphones.
The Korean firm’s net income rose to a record US$6.6 billion, up from its earnings in the same period last year. Samsung said its mobile profits “more than doubled over the same period”.
This becomes the fifth successive quarterly profit for the electronics giant, which reported fourth-quarter sales of $52.6 billion, a 19 percent increase. About half of that revenue originated from its mobile communications division, attributed to booming Galaxy S3 smartphone and Galaxy Note 2 tablet business.
The results were slightly better than projections made by Samsung earlier this month, when it had announced “more than 100 million smartphones in the Galaxy series since its launch in May 2010”, calling it “the driving force” behind the electronics maker’s “rise to the top” in the global smartphone market.
“The furious growth spurt seen in the global smartphone market last year is expected to be pacified by intensifying price competition, compounded by a slew of new products,” Samsung said.
“In the first quarter, demand for smartphones in developed countries is expected to decelerate, while their emerging counterparts will see their markets escalate with the introduction of more affordable smartphones and a bigger appetite for tablet PCs throughout the year.”
