Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of memory chips, televisions and flat screens, estimated Friday that its third-quarter operating profits grew 12 percent compared with three months earlier.
The preliminary estimate for operating profit posted 4.2 trillion won (3.56 billion U.S. dollars) during the July-September period, up 12 percent from the previous quarter, Samsung said in an e-mailed statement. From a year earlier, operating profit dwindled 13.58 percent in the third quarter.
Sales were estimated at 41 trillion won for three months ended Sept. 30, up 3.96 percent from the previous quarter. The third- quarter revenue grew 1.91 percent from a year before.
Samsung did not unveil its guidance for net profit and performance for each division. The final results would be announced later this month.
The third-quarter operating profit was stronger than expected due to brisk sales in smartphone, market watchers said. "Samsung is forecast to post operating profit of 3.5 trillion won in the third quarter. Smartphones are projected to drive the third- quarter earnings growth," James Song, an analyst at Daewoo Securities in Seoul, said in a report before the earnings guidance was released.
Song expected the telecommunications division to post a record- high operating profit of more than 2 trillion won, saying Samsung was estimated to ship 28.5 million units of smartphones during the July-September period.
"Samsung's smartphone sales are estimated at 29 million units in the third quarter. That was a figure 16 percent higher than initially forecast," Jay Kim, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said before the release.
