Samsung ups spending, with accent on R&D

Investment by Samsung Electronics, the world’s top smartphone and flat-screen TV maker, jumped 22 percent in the first half of the year compared with a year ago despite bleak economic circumstances, a report showed yesterday.

The tech behemoth spent a total of 19.7 trillion won ($17.4 billion) on facility investment as well as research and development in the January-June period, compared with 16.2 trillion won the previous year, according to Samsung’s semi-annual business report. This is the biggest investment that the tech company has made yet.

The company’s R&D spending jumped 15.8 percent on-year to 5.8 trillion won over the cited period, with the amount accounting for 6.2 percent of the company’s revenue in the six-month period.

The report showed that facility investment climbed 24.8 percent from a year earlier to 13.9 trillion won in the first half. A total of 9.7 trillion was spent to improve Samsung’s semiconductor business, while 2.6 trillion won was used for its LCD business.

Samsung expects annual facility investment to reach 25 trillion won this year, which is expected to drive overall R&D and capital spending beyond last year’s record of 33 trillion won.

The record investment spending outlook comes as robust smartphone sales are driving the company’s earnings to a new high. In the first half, the company saw revenue jump 21.5 percent on-year to 92.9 trillion won, while operating profit soared 87.7 percent to 12.6 trillion won.
Yonhap