AP, Seoul :
Samsung Electronics Co. reported Thursday better-than-expected quarterly financial results as global data centers continued to fuel robust demand for its mainstay memory chips that posted another record-high quarterly profit.
The South Korean tech giant said it recorded 11.7 trillion won ($10.8 billion) for its January-March net income, up 52 percent from 7.7 trillion won a year earlier.
The result slightly exceeded expectations of 11.3 trillion won according to financial data provider FactSet.
Sales rose 20 percent to 60.6 trillion won ($56.1 billion) while operating income surged 58 percent to 15.6 trillion won ($14.5 billion) during the period.
The first quarter sees a typically low demand for consumer electronics products but Samsung has been immune to seasonally shifting demand in the consumer electronics market thanks to what has become a perennially lucrative business of memory chips. A lion’s share of its latest quarterly operating income was generated by the semiconductor division.
More than 70 percent its quarterly operating income, or 11.55 trillion won ($10.7 billion), was posted by the semiconductor business on the division’s revenue of just 20.78 trillion won ($19.25 billion), a profit margin almost unheard of in the manufacturing industry.
Samsung said its semiconductor division benefited from strong demand for server chips from global data center operators and chips that handle graphics and crypto-currency mining cards.
Memory chips used to be a cutthroat market with multiple players that cycled between being deep in the red or in the black depending on global supply and demand. An industry restructuring in the last couple of years left only a handful of global companies and tight supplies.
Samsung Electronics Co. reported Thursday better-than-expected quarterly financial results as global data centers continued to fuel robust demand for its mainstay memory chips that posted another record-high quarterly profit.
The South Korean tech giant said it recorded 11.7 trillion won ($10.8 billion) for its January-March net income, up 52 percent from 7.7 trillion won a year earlier.
The result slightly exceeded expectations of 11.3 trillion won according to financial data provider FactSet.
Sales rose 20 percent to 60.6 trillion won ($56.1 billion) while operating income surged 58 percent to 15.6 trillion won ($14.5 billion) during the period.
The first quarter sees a typically low demand for consumer electronics products but Samsung has been immune to seasonally shifting demand in the consumer electronics market thanks to what has become a perennially lucrative business of memory chips. A lion’s share of its latest quarterly operating income was generated by the semiconductor division.
More than 70 percent its quarterly operating income, or 11.55 trillion won ($10.7 billion), was posted by the semiconductor business on the division’s revenue of just 20.78 trillion won ($19.25 billion), a profit margin almost unheard of in the manufacturing industry.
Samsung said its semiconductor division benefited from strong demand for server chips from global data center operators and chips that handle graphics and crypto-currency mining cards.
Memory chips used to be a cutthroat market with multiple players that cycled between being deep in the red or in the black depending on global supply and demand. An industry restructuring in the last couple of years left only a handful of global companies and tight supplies.
