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Samsung's profits grow 79 percent, but semiconductor business stumbles

Samsung's profits grow 79 percent, but semiconductor business stumbles

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Samsung posts record operating profit of ₩6.72 trillion for Q2 of 2012, a 79 percent increase over the same time last year. However, revenues for its semiconductor business declined over the same period, which Samsung ascribed to falling prices for NAND flash and weak demand for PC DRAM.

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Samsung Galaxy S III pebble blue (STOCK)
Samsung Galaxy S III pebble blue (STOCK)

While Samsung’s legal problems are likely to have people back in Suwon concerned, its current financial picture is a lot rosier. The company posted another record quarter, earning ₩6.72 trillion in operating profit (about $5.86 billion) on ₩47.6 trillion (about $41.5 billion) in revenues — narrowly beating its predictions from earlier this month. That’s 79 percent more profit than the company pulled in last year at this time, made even more impressive by the comparatively small increase in revenue of only 21 percent. However, Bloomberg reports that profits still fell short of analysts’ expectations, which were about 6 percent higher.

Samsung’s handset business in particular saw a 75 percent jump in revenues over the same time last year, but the picture isn’t so encouraging for the semiconductor business, which saw a 6-percent decline. Samsung says weak demand for PC DRAM chips and falling prices for the NAND flash used in SSDs and mobile phones were to blame. The company doesn’t expect the situation to improve next quarter either, pointing to "lackluster back-to-school orders" and intensifying competition.