Samsung Profits Up 37% From Buoyant LCD And Cellphone Sales

Samsung has announced its financial performance figures for the past quarter, and it's been a healthy three months for the Korean company. Beating analyst forecasts, profit rose 37-percent, with the well-performing LCD and mobile communications arms of the company coming to the rescue of the ailing DRAM flash memory business. For the past five quarters DRAM has dropped in price, to just 90-percent of their initial value; Samsung and analysts alike now expect the division to turn the corner by the end of the next quarter.

"Samsung's competitiveness in memory chips and LCD reached a level that none of its rivals can aim to match. Samsung will continue to post outstanding results" Hyun, analyst, Prudential Investment & Securities

While shipments of flat screens were little changedfrom the last quarter – down to 22.8m large-size LCD panels compared to 22.9m in the final quarter of 2007 – the overall shortage of panels and high demand pushed revenues for the three months to 4.34 trillion won (US$4.32bn). Samsung expects shipments to increase between 8 and 10-percent in the next quarter. Meanwhile, analysts are predicting demand for flat-panels to continue to exceed supply throughout 2008.

Samsung's share price was up 4-percent from the news, achieving their highest cost at the close of business in two years. The company recently outlined details regarding the next generation of TVs, using AMOLED technology, which it expects to be shipping in economically-viable volume by 2009