Samsung Electronics reported second-quarter sales up 4 percent from a year earlier to KRW 39.44 trillion. Operating profit was down 25 percent to KRW 3.75 trillion, and net profit fell 18 percent to KRW 3.51 trillion. The drop in profits was mainly due to its semiconductor and LCD activities, while the telecom business performed strongly. Telecom sales rose 43 percent year-on-year to KRW 12.18 trillion, and operating profit rose to KRW 1.67 trillion from KRW 0.63 trillion. Samsung did not release figures on handset shipments, but said growth was in the high teens year-on-year and high single digits versus Q1. This was led by growth across its smartphone range, offset by lower sales of traditional feature phones. The average selling price was up in the low teens versus Q1 thanks to the higher smartphone share. Samsung said it expects the handset market to grow 15 percent in the second half of the year compared to the first six months. In the third quarter, sequential growth is forecast in high single digits. This is led by continued strong demand for smartphones in both developed and emerging markets as well as the launch of LTE devices. Demand for feature phones is also expected to grow, but this market will suffer from price pressure as smartphones become more mass market, Samsung expects.
