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Samsung predicts 53% surge in profits

 

Oscar Williams-Grut
Friday 05 April 2013 13:25 BST
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Samsung’s star continues to rise, as the South Korean electronics giant today predicted a stronger-than-expected jump in first-quarter profits.

The company estimates profits between January and March will be  8.7 trillion won (£5 billion), up 53% from a year earlier, while sales in the period are expected to total  52 trillion won (£30.2 billion).

The success has been driven by sales of Samsung’s Galaxy and Note smartphones, with the company announcing at the beginning of the year it has shipped more than 100 million Galaxy S handsets since its launch.

While the profit guidance is better than some analysts expected, it marks the end of five straight quarters of record-breaking earnings for the world’s biggest technology firm by revenue. In the last three months of 2012 profits hit 8.8 trillion won.

Samsung is hoping to drive further growth by capitalising on emerging markets and less-affluent customers with cheaper models such as the Rex and Galaxy Pop.

Today’s announcement puts further pressure on Samsung’s competitor, Apple. Analysts estimated Samsung sold 68-70 million mobiles in the first quarter, up from 63 million at the end of last year, while Apple’s iPhone shipments are expected to have slumped about 30% to 30 million.

Samsung will release full quarterly results on April 26.

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