Galaxy maker may see record profit

Samsung Electronics is projected to post a record operating profit in the third quarter on the back of robust mobile device sales despite woes over its ongoing patent war with Apple, analysts said yesterday.

The crown jewel of Korea’s top conglomerate is expected to post an operating income of 7.56 trillion won ($6.79 billion) on revenue of 51.57 trillion won in the July-September period, according to an analysis of 26 securities firms compiled by researcher FnGuide.

Samsung is set to release its third-quarter earnings guidance today.

Meanwhile, the estimated figures represent a 77.8 percent on-year rise in operating income and a 24.9 percent jump in revenue.

They also mark a sharp increase from three months earlier when Samsung posted a record 6.72 trillion won operating profit on revenue totaling 47.6 trillion won, driven by strong sales of the Galaxy S3 smartphone that was released globally in late May.

The rosy outlook comes as Samsung is facing off with Apple to cement its footing in the $219 billion global smartphone market.

The two top smartphone makers, who are both partners and rivals in the industry, have been embroiled in costly patent tussles in courtrooms across four continents.

While a local court found both companies infringing each others’ mobile patents, a U.S. federal jury overwhelmingly sided with Apple in an Aug. 24 verdict, ordering the Korean firm to pay $1.05 billion in damages.

Despite the legal bruises, analysts said continued sales of the Galaxy S3 smartphone and the successful launch of the Galaxy Note 2 “phablet,” a hybrid of a tablet and smartphone, likely propelled Samsung’s profits in the third quarter.

Yonhap