The FINANCIAL — South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics Co. on October 28 reported a 28 percent year-over-year increase in profit for the third quarter from last year, reflecting higher sales that were mainly driven by the chip and display business on the back of a weaker won. This is the company’s first quarterly profit growth in two years, according to Nasdaq.
However, Samsung warned that it expects earnings for the fourth quarter to decline from the preceding quarter, as it does not expect the foreign exchange rate to have a positive effect.
Samsung also announced a 11.3 trillion won share buyback, which is equivalent to $9.9 billion. The buyback will be implemented in 3 to 4 stages and will be completed within one year.
Third-quarter net income attributable to the shareholders of the parent company of 5.31 trillion won, up from 4.14 trillion won in the same quarter last year.
Operating profit rose 82 percent to 7.39 trillion won from last year’s 4.06 trillion won. The company noted that impact of the exchange rate for the quarter yielded gains of about 800 billion won in the quarter.
Sales for the quarter grew 8.9 percent to 51.68 trillion won from 47.45 trillion won in the prior year.
Sales at the semiconductor division grew 30 percent from last year to 12.82 trillion won, with memory sales rising 15 percent. The memory market saw an increase in demand, driven by an overall increase in capacity in chips as well as the launch of flagship smartphones and on increased demand by data centers.
The telecommunication division reported an 8 percent increase in sales to 26.61 trillion won, with a 10 percent increase in mobiles sales.
Samsung said it will announce its 2015 year-end dividend in January, 2016 when the company’s board makes a decision. The company is currently reviewing the introduction and implementation of a quarterly dividend policy in 2016.
Looking ahead to 2016, Samsung said it aims to continue growth and achieve strong profitability by enhancing business competitiveness.
On the Korean Stock Exchange, Samsung’s shares are trading at 1,329,000 won, up 20,000 won or 1.5 percent on a volume of 466,933 shares.
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