Samsung Electronics upbeat on chip outlook as third quarter profit falls 56%

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said chip sales should pick up in 2020 as it reported a 56% fall in third-quarter operating profit on Thursday, reeling from memory price declines amid a prolonged industry downturn.
Samsung said there were positive signs for the chip outlook thanks to anticipated demand from data-centre customers and the continuing expansion of 5G smartphones.
But the South Korean tech giant warned that prospects for 2020 should be viewed with caution as uncertainties remained in the macroeconomic environment, a likely reference to the future of U.S.-China trade relations.
The world’s top maker of memory chips and smartphones said operating profit was 7.8 trillion won (£5.24 billion), slightly above the 7.7 trillion won estimate the company released earlier. Revenue fell 5.3% to 62 trillion won, in line with its earlier estimates.