Samsung eyes a record on Galaxy surge

Booming sales of Galaxy smartphones put Samsung on course for another record quarter as the South Korean giant shrugged off its recent legal defeat to rival Apple.

The consumer electronics behemoth revealed yesterday it is set to shatter forecasts with profits of 8.1 trillion won (£4.5 bn) for the July-September period — almost double last year and the fourth quarter of record profits in a row.

But the run looks as though it might come to an end in the present quarter as Apple hits back with the launch of its iPhone5. Industry watchers say 2012 could be the high-water mark for smartphone profits, with the two main rivals set to slog it out in a price war next year.

Samsung overtook rivals Apple and Nokia last year as the world's biggest seller of smartphones.

Its hugely popular Android smartphones and tablet computers now account for more than two thirds of profits, outweighing weak demand for memory chips and fierce competition driving down margins on televisions.

Analysts reckon Samsung sold 60 million smartphones during the last quarter, including 18 million of the latest Galaxy S3 model.