Samsung says Q3 profit likely fell 56% on memory chip slump

[SEOUL] South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Tuesday its third-quarter operating profit likely fell 56 per centfrom a year earlier, slightly better than analysts had expected.

The world's biggest semiconductor firm by revenue has struggled since late last year as a weak global economy and slower spending from data centre customers ended a two-year boom in the memory chip market where Samsung rakes in around two thirds of its entire profit.

Samsung said its operating profit was likely 7.7 trillion won (S$8.88 billion) in the quarter ended September, down 56 per cent from a record 17.6 trillion won a year ago but above the 7.1 trillion won average analyst forecast by Refinitiv SmartEstimate.

Revenue likely fell 5.3 per cent to 62 trillion won from 65.5 trillion won a year ago, the company said.

Samsung's trading update on Tuesday gave estimates for operating profit and revenue only. Finalised figures and further details will be provided when the company announces its full results later this month.

REUTERS