Samsung Electronics net falls 23.6% in third quarter on year

Passengers pass by a Samsung Electronics retail shop in Seoul. [NEWS1]

Samsung Electronics reported a sharp profit decline in the third quarter as its semiconductor business went from an earnings engine to an earnings drag.

Net profit in the July-September period was 9.39 trillion won ($6.63 billion), down from 12.29 trillion won in the same period a year earlier.

Sales came in at 76.78 trillion won, up 3.8 percent on year, but short of the market expectation of 78.3 trillion won.

The Suwon, Gyeonggi-based company reported 10.85 trillion won ($7.66 billion) in operating profit in the third quarter, down 31.4 percent on year. The profit missed FnGuide's market consensus of 11.9 trillion won and is the lowest figure since the first quarter of 2021.

Performance was weak across the board.

Semiconductors generated 5.12 trillion won of operating profit in the third quarter, down 49 percent on year, as demand plunged.

Operating profit in the consumer electronics business, which includes home appliances, sank 67 percent to 250 billion won on year, while in the smartphone business, the figure was down 3.6 percent to 3.24 trillion won.

In line with earlier comments by company executives, Samsung Electronics plans to maintain investment despite the weak market.

In full-year 2022 guidance released with the earnings, it said it will invest 47.4 trillion won in semiconductors and 3 trillion won in display panels.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]