Samsung suffers 38.9 per cent fall in first-quarter net profit

Samsung Electronics posted a near 40 per cent fall in first-quarter net profit yesterday, missing analyst estimates despite a surge in memory chip demand that cushioned a slump in smartphone sales.

Facing increasing competition from arch rival Apple and smaller Chinese manufacturers, the world's top handset maker reported a net profit of 4.6 trillion won (HK$33.3 billion), down 38.9 per cent year on year.

It was the fourth straight quarterly decline in net profit and missed the 4.9 trillion won average of 23 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Operating profit fell 29.6 per cent year on year to 6.0 trillion won, largely in line with the firm's earlier forecast.

But in a sign that the South Korean electronics giant might be turning a corner, the operating profit was up 13.1 per cent from the fourth quarter of last year.

The firm's latest earnings still stood in stark contrast to Apple which this week reported a 33 per cent surge in net profit to US$13.6 billion in the first quarter thanks to blockbuster sales of the iPhone 6, especially in the Chinese market.

In its earnings statement, Samsung said it expected overall earnings to increase in the second quarter as premium smartphone sales entered "into full swing".