By Kwanwoo Jun
Samsung Electronics posted better-than-expected net profit for the fourth quarter, but earnings at its core semiconductor business weakened sequentially for a second consecutive quarter.
The world’s largest maker of memory chips and smartphones has said it faces challenges from sluggish demand for conventional chips and information-technology devices amid intensified market competition. It is also trying to catch up with rivals in supplying advanced artificial-intelligence chips.
Net profit for the October-December period rose 22% from a year earlier to 7.754 trillion won, equivalent to $5.36 billion, beating a FactSet-compiled consensus estimate of 6.353 trillion won. Profit was down 23% from the previous quarter, the company said Friday.
Samsung’s flagship chip-making division generated operating profit of about 2.9 trillion won, down from around 3.9 trillion won the prior quarter. The result was way below smaller chip-making rival SK Hynix’s fourth-quarter profit, which topped 8 trillion won.
Revenue for the quarter increased 12% from a year ago to 75.788 trillion won, slightly above the company’s preliminary estimate, while operating profit more than doubled to 6.493 trillion won, largely meeting its guidance.
For the full year, the company reported net profit of 34.451 trillion won and operating profit of 32.726 trillion won as revenue rose 16% to 300.871 trillion won.
Shares in Samsung were 2.2% lower after the earnings report.
Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com
