Samsung Electronics’ 2022 profit beats consensus, sales hit new high

Samsung Electronics reported a consensus-beating 56 trillion won ($45 billion) net profit for last year despite lingering uncertainties and shrinking demand for semiconductors.

Annual sales hit a record high.

Net profit rose by 39.5 percent to 55.7 trillion won in 2022, far exceeding the market consensus of 36.5 trillion won.

Sales hit an all-time high of 302.2 trillion won, up 8.09 percent on year, but dipping below the market expectation of 305.5 trillion won.

It's the first time in history that the chipmaker exceeded 300 trillion won in annual sales.

Operating profit dropped by 16 percent to 43.4 trillion won, also falling short of the market consensus of 46.3 trillion won.

Quarterly operating profit plunged 69 percent to 4.36 trillion won in the fourth quarter, far below the consensus estimate of 6.9 trillion won. It is the worst quarterly result in eight years.

Sales of semiconductors were the biggest contributor, especially in the first half when there was solid demand.

"Though sales of memory chips sharply fell, sales of foundry, or contract chipmaking business hit an all-time high," the chipmaker said in Tuesday's statement.

The chip business generated 98.5 trillion won last year, and 23.8 trillion won in operating profit.

That cash cow business, however, is where the company spent the most as well. It invested a total of 47.9 trillion won into expanding capacity and upgrading its chip plants. Its total capital expenditure was 53.1 trillion won last year.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]