South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported its lowest quarterly operating profit in 14 years, as prices for memory chips continued to fall and demand remained weak, reported German news agency (dpa).
Samsung reported a 87.4 per cent drop in net income attributable to the shareholders to 1.4 trillion won (US$1.04 billion) for the first quarter from 11.13 trillion won in the same quarter last year.
Operating profit for the quarter also dropped 95.4 per cent year-on-year to 640 billion won from the previous year while quarterly sales declined 18 per cent to 63.75 trillion won.
The company expects that semiconductor demand will gradually recover in the second-half of 2023.
In the second quarter, Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) expects to see results decline year-on-year due to the global economic slowdown increasing seasonal effects.
SDC plans to maintain its dominance in the high-end market and maximise sales by promoting the adoption of OLED panels throughout its main customer’s entire lineup and by accommodating their mass production of new products in the second half.
For large panels, while demand is likely to remain weak, sales should grow as new products for 2023 roll out in earnest.
In the second half, the smartphone market is expected to increase in both volume and value amid signs of a global economic recovery. As a result, the MX Business expects especially strong demand in the premium segment.
