Samsung is heading for a fall... in profits

The electronics giant Samsung yesterday admitted that it is heading for its first fall in annual profits since 2011, after losing market share to rivals including Apple.

The world’s leading smartphone maker has also been hit by the rapid growth of China’s Xiaomi, which this week said revenues had more than doubled last year.

Analysts say the South Korean company is likely to post a full-year profit of 25 trillion won (£15.1bn), down 32 per cent on the previous year. Experts believe its focus on mid to low-tier smartphones will squeeze margins over the coming months, even though upmarket products such as the Galaxy Note 4 did well in the fourth quarter. “It’d be hard to expect a sharp pick-up in earnings from the mobile division in the absence of a hit product,” said Korean Investment Trust Management.