Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) reported its earnings this morning, posting record profits just in time for the launch of its new flagship handset, the Galaxy S4.
The company reported a net income of 7.15 trillion won ($6.4 billion) in the first three months of the year. That’s 42 percent higher compared to the same quarter a year ago. Analysts were expecting Samsung to report net income of 6.73 trillion won.
Sales were up from 45.3 trillion won in the same quarter a year ago to 52.9 trillion won in the first quarter of this year. Operating income jumped from 5.69 trillion on last year to $8.78 trillion won this year.
Shares of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) fell in trading in Seoul, closing the day down 0.5 percent. Analysts said investors may be less likely to buy on today’s positive earnings news because the company pre-reported its preliminary operating profits earlier this month.
The company’s smartphone sales rose 56 percent year over year to 69.4 million handsets. According to Strategy Analytics, that’s almost double the number of iPhone’s Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold. The company’s operating profit at its mobile unit was 6.51 trillion won. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930)’s consumer electronics unit profits, which includes its home appliances and televisions, dropped to 230 billion won, compared to 500 billion won a year ago.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 handset is launching around the world. It went on sale this week in South Korea and became available in the U.S. and in Australia a day later. Bloomberg reports that demand for the new handset is so much higher than expected, that the company supplying the components for the device may need to purchase some of those components from one of its competitors in order to keep up with the demand.
