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Hours after reporting record earnings, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Tuesday revamped its executive ranks, replacing its co-chief executives in an attempt to stem a leadership crisis that began with the conviction of its top executive in August.
The South Korean tech giant appointed new heads of its three main business lines: mobile, electronics components and consumer electronics. They are Kim Ki-nam, who will head components; Kim Hyun-suk, who will be in charge of consumer electronics; and Koh Dong-jin, who takes over the mobile division. They will be co-CEOs, maintaining Samsung’s current management structure.
However, Samsung also separated the chairman and CEO roles for the first time. President Sang-Hoon Lee will leave his position as chief financial officer and has been recommended by outside board members to be chairman starting next March, the company said.
Earlier Tuesday, Samsung also said it plans to boost shareholder dividends by trillions of won after blowing past analysts’ estimates to post record third-quarter profits, driven by its largest-ever memory chip earnings. The company said Tuesday morning in South Korea that it will pay out annual dividends of 9.6 trillion won ($8.5 billion) over the next three years, reaffirming its commitment to “creating shareholder value and returning significant capital to its shareholders.”
Samsung, the world’s largest chipmaker, has capitalized on rising semiconductor prices this year, allowing it to shrug off the recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. Now, it’s aiming to get past a leadership void after its de facto leader Jay Y. Lee was jailed on corruption charges in August. Lee’s imprisonment was followed by news this month that Kwon Oh-Hyun, the company’s vice chairman, co-chief executive officer and head of its semiconductor operation, will step down by March.
Following Kwon’s surprise resignation, Samsung needed to reshuffle its leadership pack. One of three co-CEOs alongside Yoon Boo-keun and Shin Jong-kyun, Kwon had offered his resignation in early October, saying the company needs fresh blood in order to “find new growth engines.”
Kwon, widely known inside the company as “Mr. Chip,” is the primary person responsible for the stunning growth of its memory business unit, having led it since 2008. Kwon has also effectively been top dog at the company since Lee’s imprisonment in August.
Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told CNBC that it will be key for Samsung to “make sure that at least one of the replacements has a long-term vision for the company,” he added.
The leadership struggles come in stark contrast to the business itself. The company said it expects the “supercycle” of tight supply and strong demand to continue through the next year, as new servers and mobile devices demand higher processing capacity.
“For 2018, the company expects earnings to grow primarily from the component businesses, as conditions in the memory market are likely to remain favorable and the company expects increased sales of flexible OLED panels,” the firm said in a statement.
Samsung said its operating profit almost tripled in the third quarter from a year ago, to 14.5 trillion won ($12.91 billion). That’s in line with the company’s earlier estimate, delivered in a preliminary earnings forecast earlier this month.
The company also posted a 30 percent revenue increase, to 62 trillion won, in line with its previous estimate. Net income also rose to a record 11.04 trillion won for the quarter. That compares with the 10.8 trillion won average forecast compiled by Bloomberg.
Samsung’s success is largely thanks to the stunning performance of its chip business, which booked a record 10 trillion won operating profit, up from 3.4 trillion won one year ago. The company benefited from rising demand for more powerful devices and supply constraints that jacked up the prices of both DRAM and NAND memory chips, increasing its profit margins.
The firm’s mobile business also saw gains, with profits rising to 3.3 trillion won, up from 100 billion won a year ago. Samsung said it has sold more than 4 million Galaxy Note 8 smartphones since that device’s launch in mid-September, helping to offset slowing sales of its Galaxy S8 device.
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