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SAMSUNG REPORTED ITS net profit had risen 5.9 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter with a decent showing by its chips division offsetting sliding smartphone revenue.
The South Korean giant logged 7.57 trillion won (€5.2 billion) of net profit in the first three months of the year, but saw operating profit slip 3.3 per cent on-year to 8.49 trillion won, following a 6 per cent decline in the fourth quarter.
Alarm bells have been sounding for a while over Samsung’s reliance on smartphone sales in mature markets such as Europe and the US, and increasingly competitive emerging markets such as China.
The world’s largest smartphone maker has a diverse product line ranging from memory chips to home appliances, but more than half of its profits are generated by mobile devices.
This month saw the global roll-out of the latest version of its flagship Galaxy series smartphone, the S5, whose performance will be closely watched over the coming months.
While reviews have rated the S5 a top-class product, they note that it offers little in the way of real innovation that would set it apart from previous versions and models offered by competitors such as Apple.
Samsung made margin concessions with the S5, launching it at a slightly lower price than its predecessor the S4 and throwing in a premium software bundle estimated at more than €360.
The strategy appeared to have met with some success, as the net profit figure released on Tuesday beat most analyst estimates.
Overall sales in the first three months of the year inched up 1.53 per cent to 53.7 trillion won, but were down 2.5 per cent for the mobile business unit.
The share price took a hit, falling 2.02 per cent on Tuesday to close at 1.36 million won (€950) in a broader market that was down 0.23 per cent.
Samsung acknowledged it was faced with a tough road ahead as demand would remain sluggish in the second quarter.
Expanding product line-up in China
Kim Hyun-Joon, senior vice president for the mobile business, said the market for smartphones and tablet computers would “grow slightly” in the second quarter.
“But we will try to continue solid earnings growth by expanding sales of Galaxy S5,” Kim said.
The company was expecting sales of Galaxy S5 to beat its predecessor S4, he said, despite some scepticism from observers.
Samsung rarely discloses sales figures for its smartphones but J.K Shin – the head of the firm’s mobile unit – said in October that S4 sales had reached 40 million globally since its release in April 2013.
Seoul-based Korea Investment & Securities recently estimated its worldwide tally stood at 57 million units.
But sales of the S5 will likely be limited to around 51 million, it said, while another researcher HMC Investment & Securities put the estimated figure at 44 million.
Samsung has expanded its presence in faster-growing emerging markets thanks to increasing sales in China and the Middle East, Kim said.
Sales of its mid- and low-priced models such as Galaxy Brand or Galaxy Ace also rose in the developing markets, he said.
“We plan to meet the growing demand by expanding product lineup for China’s long-term evolution (4G) market that is expected to grow dramatically,” Kim said.
Previously moribund sales of its tablet computers also rose to reach some 13 million units in the first quarter, he added.
The company’s bottom line was also boosted by a 22.8 per cent surge in memory chip sales from the first quarter of 2013 to 6.29 trillion won.
There is a general consensus that smartphone evolution has hit a barrier that will only allow incremental improvements on existing design and technology, rather than market-changing reinvention.
Samsung is also faced with a growing challenge from smaller rivals whose budget models have gained popularity in emerging markets that drive global growth.
Samsung maintained a leading position in the global smartphone market in the first quarter, but its market share fell for the first time in four years to 31.2 per cent from 32.4 per cent a year ago, market researcher Strategy Analytics said Tuesday.
During the same period, Chinese PC giant Lenovo, which is set to take over Motorola Mobility’s handset business, saw its presence grow to 4.7 per cent from 3.9 per cent.
Samsung and South Korea’s other export powerhouses are also feeling some strain from the strength of the Korean won.
Samsung said sharp currency swings cost it 700 billion won (€487 million) in lost revenue in the fourth quarter of 2013.
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Good… Switched over from IPhone and will never look back.
you fool frank you absolute fool. the NSA and GCHQ know everything about you. they have your mic and camera turned ion when your not aware.
Despite the minor problems with the S5 Samsung are streets ahead of Apple. To be fair to Apple any company that can get people to buy a brand as opposed to actually buying a product based on it’s merits deserves kudos.
It’s not only Samsung. There are now a number of high end android phones that are far superior to the iPhone.
But I reckon apple with hit back with 5″ screen. They need to make a bigger phone imo.
HTC M7 is one of them.
It will kick IPhone to pieces in all aspects and even looks smarter.
Yeah agreed. The Xperia z2 looks pretty cool too.
Personally I think smart phones are getting too big. I have a samsung s3 and it’s a lot bigger than my wifes iphone 4. I wouldn’t want a bigger phone as there is only so much phone I can fit in my pocket.
Crap Apple, once bitten twice shy, androids all the way!!
as far as an OS goes yes android are far better. The only thing is apple do have a far better build quality over samsung. hence whey im looking at getting the htc m8 this month looks a great little solid phone :)
Take note Apple: if reliance on phones & tablets is becoming a concern for a company with such diverse operations as Samsung perhaps the time has come for Apple to invest adequately in research & diversify their operations too. Companies can’t maintain 500bn valuations with single digit product ranges in the long run.
Because they had to pay to produce it in q1 also they had to forecast sales
The S5 was released on 11th April so how would the decision to lower the margins on that handset have any impact on Q1 figures?
Might be related to pre orders by companies and individuals. I think carphone warehouse said in march the preorders were up 500% on the S4.
have your say