SEOUL: The world’s biggest smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics, reported a slump in fourth-quarter net profits on Thursday, blaming weakening demand in key products and falling chip prices.
Net profit in the October-to-December period was 5.23 trillion won ($4.4 billion), down 38 per cent from a year ago, it said in a statement.
“Fourth-quarter profit dropped from a year earlier due to the continued fall in memory chip prices and weakness in display panels,” Samsung said in a statement.
The firm is the flagship subsidiary of the giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates known as “chaebols” that dominate business in the world’s 12th-largest economy.
But it suffered a series of difficulties in 2019, with the global memory chip market — which has driven profits in recent years — hit by rising supply and falling demand.
The premium smartphone market has also grown fiercely competitive, with buyers waiting longer before upgrading to new models. — AFP
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