Samsung Electronics flags 56% fall in Q3 operating profit

Seoul: Samsung Electronics said Tuesday it expected operating profits to drop more than 50 percent in the third quarter amid a continued slump in the global chip market.

Operating profit for July to September was expected to reach 7.7 trillion won ($6.4 billion), down 56.2 percent from a year earlier, the world’s largest maker of smartphones and memory chips said in a statement.

It marks the fourth consecutive quarter in which the South Korean tech company has recorded a profit drop in the face of falling semiconductor prices and weakened demand for its mobile devices.

Sales for the third quarter were expected to reach around 62 trillion won, down 5.3 percent from the same period last year.