Samsung profits drop to 8-year low

January 31, 2023  14:13

Samsung’s quarterly profits have plunged to their lowest level in eight years․ As CNN reports, the reason is that the company sold fewer mobile phones and laptops during this quarter.

The tech giant's operating profit for the 4th quarter—which ended in December 2022—was $3.5 billion, which is 69% less compared to the same period last year.

In a statement released by the company, it is noted that the revenue decreased by 8%—a little less than $57.3 billion—in the specified period.

This is the company's lowest quarterly profit since the third quarter of 2014, when Samsung's smartphone business posted heavy losses and lost ground to rivals.

“The business environment deteriorated significantly in the fourth quarter due to weak demand amid a global economic slowdown,” Samsung noted in the statement.

Samsung announced at the beginning of January—during the preliminary revenue forecast—that it expects such a decline.

In a presentation to investors, the company confirmed that “mobile and PC demand was weak,” and its memory chip business had also suffered “as customers continued to adjust their inventories amid deepening uncertainties.”

Samsung expects some of those issues to continue in the coming months due to global economic uncertainty, although the company also expects overall demand to start recovering in the second half of the year.

The company's statement also said that smartphone demand will likely slide again this quarter compared to the same period a year ago, “due to the economic slowdown in major regions.”

Amid this news, the price of Samsung shares in Seoul decreased by 3%.

Also, Samsung reported that it received $245.7 billion in revenue for the full year of 2022, which is $18.3 billion more than the $227.4 billion in 2021.

Analysts expect the company's profits to decline again this quarter due to the continued decline in memory chip prices.


 
 
 
 
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