Samsung posts 5.2pc rise in Q2 profit

Seoul: South Korean telecom giant Samsung Electronics on Friday flagged a 5.2 percent rise in its second quarter operating profit from a year earlier, missing analyst estimates.

Samsung´s operating profit is expected to come to 14.8 trillion won ($13.2 billion) for the April-June period, higher than the 14.07 trillion won in the same period in 2017, but down from the record 15.64 trillion won of the previous quarter.

The forecast came in at the low end of the market consensus, which averaged 15.3 trillion won.

"It´s a bit disappointing," Ko Gyeong-beom at Yuanta Securities Korea told AFP, noting the company had posted expectation-beating operating profits in several previous quarters.

Sales are estimated at 58 trillion won, down 4.9 percent from 61 trillion won a year earlier. Industry sources said smartphone sales were weaker in the face of mounting competition from rivals and increasing marketing costs for new mobile products.

Weak LCD display prices and a slow display screens sector are also blamed for the disappointing results, they said. "The shipment and prices of the flagship smartphone Galaxy 9, rolled out in the first quarter, fell shy of expectations," said Yoo Jong-woo, an analyst with Korea Investment & Securities.