Samsung Electronics on Thursday said its net profit surged in the third quarter, but its sluggish artificial intelligence chips weighed heavily on its flagship semiconductor business.
The tech giant posted a net profit of 10.1 trillion won ($7.3 billion) for the July-September period, up 72.8 per cent from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing, Yonhap news agency reported.
Its operating profit surged 277.4 per cent to 9.18 trillion won from 2.43 trillion won a year ago. Revenue rose 17.3 per cent to 79.09 trillion won, setting a new quarterly record and surpassing the previous high of 77.8 trillion won from the first quarter of 2022.
The operating profit was 10.8 per cent lower than the average estimate, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. The estimate of net profit was not available.
Samsung Electronics said its device division, which includes mobile, TV, and home appliances, posted 45 trillion won in sales and 3.4 trillion won in operating profit.
The mobile segment continued to perform steadily, driven by the launch of new foldable smartphones, tablets and wearable products.
High-end TVs, including the Neo QLED and OLED models, also contributed to increased profitability in this division.
Samsung Electronics said it invested 12.4 trillion won in facilities in the third quarter, with 10.7 trillion won allocated to semiconductor production.
The company’s full-year facility investment is forecast to stand at 56.7 trillion won, a 3.6 trillion won increase from 2023.
For research and development, Samsung Electronics spent 8.9 trillion won in the July-September period.
For the fourth quarter, Samsung Electronics said it plans to strengthen its leadership in premium products and AI capabilities, particularly in HBM products, by enhancing competitiveness in advanced technologies amid intensifying macroeconomic uncertainties.