Samsung flags Q4 profit rise on chip, display sales

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Friday its fourth quarter operating profit likely rose 26% as coronavirus pandemic driven remote working and TV-watching fuelled sales of chips and display panels.

However, profit likely fell about 27% when compared with the previous quarter, analysts said, due to weaker smartphone sales, marketing costs and a strong won versus U.S. the dollar.

The 9 trillion won ($8.24 billion) estimate provided by the South Korean tech giant for profit in the December quarter was in line with a 9.1 trillion won analyst forecast by Refinitiv SmartEstimate. That analyst forecast was trimmed back from 9.5 trillion earlier in the week.