Samsung Expects Third-Quarter Operating Profit to Fall 78% on Year

By Kwanwoo Jun

Samsung Electronics expects its third-quarter operating profit to fall 78% from a year earlier, which would miss market expectations, as its flagship semiconductor business is seen as still struggling to exit an industry downturn.

The South Korean tech giant said in a preliminary earnings forecast that its operating profit came in at 2.4 trillion won ($1.79 billion) for the July-September quarter, compared with the profit of KRW10.85 trillion for the same period in 2022.

The company's operating profit estimate was below the FactSet-compiled market consensus forecast of KRW2.826 trillion for the September quarter.

Revenue is expected to drop 13% on year to KRW67 trillion for the third quarter, Samsung said.

The world's largest manufacturer of memory chips, smartphones and televisions is seen as still reeling from the global tech-industry downturn that weighs heavily on its once cash-cow semiconductor segment, despite some signs of a recovery.

Its chip-making segment had been in the red for a second consecutive quarter until June.

Samsung has since continued cutting its overall semiconductor output to reduce inventory and support prices for memory chips, though trying to meet brisk demand for some powerful computing chips in the artificial intelligence frenzy.

Samsung's production cuts likely helped chip prices start to rebound gradually, but an increase in its fixed-unit costs following aggressive output reductions may also have weakened earnings, according to market analysts.

Samsung is due to report full quarterly earnings later this month.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 10, 2023 20:13 ET (00:13 GMT)

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