Samsung estimates quarterly profit sank to 8-year low on demand slump

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd flagged on Friday its quarterly profit tumbled to an eight-year low as a weakening global economy hammered memory chip prices and curbed demand for electronic devices.

Profits at the world’s largest memory chip, smartphone and TV maker are expected to shrink again in the current quarter, analysts said, after Samsung announced its October-December operating profit likely fell 69% to 4.3 trillion won ($3.37 billion) from 13.87 trillion won a year earlier.

It was Samsung’s smallest quarterly profit since the third quarter of 2014 and fell short of a 5.9 trillion won Refinitiv SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.