The South Korean conglomerate said Tuesday that it expects to make an operating profit of approximately 8.1 trillion won ($ 6.8 billion) during the three months that ended in June. That is almost 23% more than in the same period of the previous year. The estimates also roughly outpaced the 2% drop in earnings that analysts surveyed by data provider Refinitiv had predicted.
Samsung said it expects sales to drop about 7% to 52 trillion won ($ 43.6 billion). Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had forecast 51.4 billion in sales ($ 43 billion).
Shares in Samsung opened 1.5% in Seoul, before cutting those gains. The last share traded lower around 1.5%.
Samsung said the estimates “include a one-time gain related to the display business.” He did not elaborate on the earnings, but will report full results for the second quarter later this month.
The company has been enjoying a boost to its memory chip business thanks to Covid-19. Millions of people around the world continue to work, play games and watch movies from home, leading to strong demand for data center chips, according to analysts.
However, sales at Samsung’s consumer electronics unit have been affected.
But analysts say the consumer electronics division, which includes smartphone and TV sales, remains profitable due to continued work and travel restrictions.
Kim, along with Lee Subin, an analyst at Daishin Securities, said that despite disappointing sales, Samsung’s smartphone unit likely enjoyed higher profit margins as the closure of retail stores means lower marketing costs.
Kim added that “reducing … internal costs, such as business travel due to Covid-19,” also helped the results of the smartphone division.
.
