Samsung Electronics achieved an operating profit exceeding 107 trillion won in the third quarter of this year, becoming the first South Korean company to surpass 100 trillion won in quarterly operating profit.
On October 8, Samsung Electronics announced its preliminary consolidated results for the third quarter, reporting revenue of 195 trillion won and an operating profit of 107.4 trillion won.
Compared to the previous quarter, revenue increased by 13.7%, and operating profit rose by 20.01%. Year-on-year, these figures surged by 126.59% and 782.50%, respectively. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of record revenue and operating profit since the fourth quarter of last year.
The operating profit exceeded market expectations. According to a recent survey by Yonhap Infomax, which compiled forecasts from securities firms over the past month, the consensus for third-quarter revenue and operating profit was 200.2577 trillion won and 105.4137 trillion won, respectively. While actual revenue fell short of expectations, operating profit surpassed the forecast by approximately 2 trillion won.
Notably, the operating profit for the third quarter alone more than doubled last year's total annual operating profit of 43.6 trillion won. The cumulative operating profit for the first three quarters of this year reached 254 trillion won, indicating that the annual operating profit is likely to exceed 300 trillion won.
The semiconductor (DS) division is believed to have driven these results. Increased demand for high-value memory, including high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, along with rising memory prices, significantly improved profitability.
According to market research firm DRAMeXchange, the average price of PC DRAM in September was $26, up $1 from the previous month, setting a new record. The average price of NAND for memory cards and USBs was $30.6, rising by $0.1 from the previous month, marking the 21st consecutive month of increases.
HBM is also expected to contribute significantly to performance improvements. HBM prices, which have not reflected the recent price surges due to long-term contracts, are anticipated to rise sharply starting next year.
Analysts estimate that the operating profit margin for the DS division in the third quarter will be around 75%. In particular, forecasts suggest that the operating profit margin for the memory division could exceed 80%. Despite the poor performance of the finished products (DX) division, which recorded its first loss in history in the second quarter, the high profitability of the memory business is seen as a key factor boosting overall results.
Samsung Electronics did not disclose performance by business segment on this day. Detailed results, including revenue and operating profit by segment, are expected to be announced at the end of this month.
This preliminary result is based on estimates in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adopted in Korea and is provided for investor convenience before the conclusion of the financial statements. Samsung Electronics plans to accept questions from shareholders regarding management status before the earnings announcement conference call and will respond to key issues.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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