UPDATED 21:51 EDT / JULY 29 2020

APPS

Samsung profits grow 23% on strong memory chip demand

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s stock rose slightly today after the Korean electronics giant said it expects to see growing demand for mobile devices and consumer electronics in the second half of the year.

However, it warned that its business still faces risks from the coronavirus pandemic and increased competition.

The company said its operating profit rose by 23% in the second quarter, to 8.1 trillion won ($6.81 billion), up from 6.6 trillion won a year ago. That was in line with its preliminary earnings forecast earlier this month. Samsung’s revenue dropped by 6%, to 53 trillion won, while its net profit increased by 7%, to 5.6 trillion won.

Samsung said the jump in profits was thanks to a 13% increase in the price of dynamic random-access memory or DRAM chips that are used in personal computers, mobile devices and data center servers. Memory chips account for the bulk of Samsung’s revenue, and the company said most of the demand in the last quarter came from data centers that are bulking up to cater to remote workers and online learning.

Samsung’s semiconductor business, which includes its memory chips, posted 5.43 trillion in operating profit.

Constellation Research Inc. analyst Holger Mueller told SiliconANGLE that Samsung’s results demonstrate the resilience of the memory chip market.

“While the traditional smartphone segment was affected by COVID-19, the memory chip business was not,” he said. “Samsung did a great job selling additional electronics to work from home workforces around the globe, most notably in its monitor business.”

Meanwhile, Samsung said its IT & Mobile Communications division, which includes smartphone sales, added 1.95 trillion won in profit.

The company said its profits were further boosted by a one-off gain in its display business. Samsung didn’t elaborate on that, but it likely came from Apple Inc. paying a onetime penalty because of lower-than-expected iPhone sales in the quarter, which would mean it failed to buy the minimum number of display panels it’s contracted to do.

Samsung warned that its data center customers will likely buy fewer DRAM chips in the second half of the year because their stockpiles are now full. However, it said it’s expecting smartphone sales to rise with the launch of two new flagship models, including a new Galaxy Note and another foldable device that will be unveiled next month.

Samsung’s shares were up 1.4% in early trading in South Korea Thursday. Its stock has already rallied in the past week on expectations that it may benefit from Intel Corp.’s decision last week to outsource more chip manufacturing to third parties.

Photo: x1r8/Flickr

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