Samsung records growth figures thanks to chip division

Samsung has realized a 48 percent increase in profit in the past quarter. The good numbers were in large part due to the chips business. The profit of the smartphone division fell.

Samsung’s quarterly revenue rose slightly by 1.5 percent to 50.55 trillion won, or 41 billion euros. Operating profit amounted to 9.9 trillion won, equivalent to 8 billion euros. This was Samsung’s highest profit for a first quarter to date.

Of those gains, 5.57 trillion won came from the semiconductor division, which benefited from increased demand for memory chips and continued high prices for these chips. The demand for high-end processors and image panels also rose, probably partly due to demand from Samsung itself in the run-up to the arrival of the Galaxy S8.

Smartphone profits fell 47 percent from last year to 1.8 trillion won. This was mainly due to the fact that the group had to continue to rely on the Galaxy S7 for the high-end after the Note 7 debacle. Samsung lowered prices for the S7 models. The company does claim that the 2017 Galaxy A series sold well. TV division revenue declined due to high TV panel prices.