Samsung supplies fewer smartphones, but makes more profit

Samsung delivered fewer smartphones in the past quarter, but made more profit. This is partly due to a one-off payment from presumably Apple, because that manufacturer purchased fewer screens than agreed.

Samsung does not mention numbers of smartphones delivered, but states that fewer of them were sold in the past quarter than in the same period last year. This also applies to other devices of the group. The demand for hardware has been increasing since May, says Samsung at the presentation of its quarterly figures.

Analyst firm Canalys estimates that Samsung shipped 53.7 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2020, a decrease of 30 percent compared to last year. This makes Huawei the market leader in the smartphone market for the first time. That manufacturer delivered many devices in China and, according to Canalys, came to 55.8 million smartphones delivered in the quarter.

In the second half of this year, Samsung Electronics expects the demand for smartphones and consumer electronics to increase further, but the group says there are still risks due to the corona pandemic and growing competition. The Foundry Business for chip production achieved good marks according to Samsung. The group has started mass production at 5nm and is developing a 4nm process.

Samsung’s quarterly turnover amounted to 52.97 trillion Korean won, or about 37.7 billion euros. That is a decrease of 6 percent compared to last year. Operating profit increased by 23 percent to 8.15 trillion won, or about 5.8 billion euros. Profits were higher due to, among other things, a one-off payment to the division that makes screens for smartphones. According to Bloomberg, Apple paid a converted 783 million euros to Samsung, because the iPhone maker has purchased fewer screens than agreed.

Samsung also mentions the arrival of a new device in the Note series and a new foldable smartphone. That concerns the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 2, which will be officially presented on August 5.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 renders via MySmartPrice