Samsung poised to beat earnings estimates in Q1

Samsung Electronics said Thursday it was highly likely to report its best quarterly earnings in the first quarter this year on upbeat sales of memory chips and smartphones.

According to its earnings guidance, the tech giant projected its operating profits at 14.1 trillion won ($11.5 billion) for the first three months of the year, a 50.03 percent increase from a year earlier.

The figure topped estimates consensus of 13.8 trillion won among local securities firms compiled by market tracker FnGuide.

Samsung estimated its sales at 77 trillion won in the first quarter, up 17.7 percent from a year earlier.

If the preliminary result stands, it would mark Samsung’s highest quarterly revenue. Since hitting the 70 trillion won mark for the first time in the third quarter last year, the company has miantained the growth momentum.

The world’s largest memory chip and smartphone maker did not break down the performances of its respective business divisions. It will announce the detailed earnings later this month.

Based on estimates by securities firms, the mobile business division is estimated to log 33.3 trillion won in sales and 4.1 trillion won in operating profits, up 15.3 percent and 55.8 percent, respectively, from a year ago.

The latest flagship smartphone Galaxy S22 is expected to see 1 million unit sales this week, becoming one of Samsung’s best-selling phones.

Its semiconductor business division is also believed to have reduced the impact from slowing chip prices early this year by focusing on value-added products such as server and graphic chips with better profitability.

The market projection for the chip business division is 25 trillion won in sales and 8 trillion won in operating profits.

Analysts offer a rosy outlook for the company’s performance in the remaining year, citing a potential rebound in chip prices.

“Amid limited supply, demand for memory chips is expected to recover, especially from data centers,” said Eo Kyu-jin, an analyst at DB Financial Investment.

“Starting from NAND in the second quarter to DRAM in the third quarter, rising chip prices will drastically improve Samsung’s earnings from the third quarter.”

Eo estimated Samsung’s record earnings this year with 418.7 trillion won in sales and 63.9 trillion won in operating profits.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)