According to preliminary results, the operating profit of the South Korean company Samsung Electronics in the fourth quarter fell by thirty-five percent year-on-year to 2.8 trillion won (roughly 48 billion crowns). The profit significantly fell short of analysts’ expectations, as persistently weak demand for consumer electronics outweighed the improved results of the division for the production of memory chips, Reuters reported.
Analysts had forecast operating profit to reach 3.7 trillion won, according to a survey by LSEG SmartEstimate. Although fourth-quarter operating profit fell short of expectations, the pace of its year-over-year decline was the mildest in five quarters.
Samsung is the largest manufacturer of memory chips in the world. The company is also the world leader in the production of smartphones and televisions. «The only thing that has improved is memory chips, as Chinese PC and mobile device makers started to restock in the fourth quarter,» said one analyst at brokerage BNK Investment & Securities. “Consumer demand is still not strong. And until interest rates are lowered and the economy is supported, it probably won’t improve much,» he added.
