Samsung electronics expects quarterly profit sink to 8-year low as demand for electronic devices decline

Samsung Electronics on Friday announced its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter 2022, in which it said its quarterly profit went down to an eight-year low because the weakening global economy hit the memory chip prices and reduced the demand for electronic devices.

Consolidated operating profit

The consolidated operating profit of the company in the October-December quarter fell by 6.9 per cent to approximately 4.3 trillion won ($3.37 billion) from 13.87 trillion won for the same period in the previous year. This is the smallest quarterly profit for the world's largest smartphone, TV, and memory chip maker since the third quarter of 2014.

Revenue and sales

The quarterly revenue fell by nearly 9 per cent to 70 trillion won in comparison to the previous year.

The consolidated sales of Asia's fourth-biggest listed company were approximately 70 trillion won.

Why the decline in sales of electronic devices?

The mobile business' profits declined as sales and revenue decreased due to weak demand from prolonged macroeconomics, the company said. The company is expecting the demand for electronics to be sluggish throughout the first half of the year due to high inflation and rising interest rates. However, the company is also expecting the industry to recover in the second half of 2023.

The company is expected to release a detailed earnings report later this month.

On Friday, during the morning trade, the shares of Samsung rose by 0.3 per cent.