By AGENCIES
SAMSUNG Electronics said its second-quarter profit rose 48% compared with a year earlier as customers flocked to get Galaxy smartphones in the absence of competitors. The result contrasts with Apple, which days earlier announced a 21% rise in profit that disappointed analysts.
Samsung said on Friday that its net profit reached 5.2tn won ($2.9bn/US$4.5bn) in the April-June quarter on revenue of 47.6tn won.
The earnings figure was a 3% rise from the previous quarter but was lower than a market consensus of 5.6tn won.
Samsung said its operating profit reached 6.7tn won, matching guidance it issued earlier in July.
Samsung said its mobile business that made the Galaxy S3 smartphone was responsible for more than 60% of its operating profit.
Investors cheered the result, sending Samsung shares up 4.3% in Seoul.
Samsung, the world's largest technology firm by revenue, benefited from runaway demand for its Android-powered smartphones as rivals including the iPhone maker, Apple, were yet to release new models.
The robust sales of smartphones such as the company's flagship Galaxy S3 helped Samsung paper over a slowdown in other consumer electronics sectors such as televisions and personal computers that has been painful for its rivals and component suppliers.
Despite nagging worries about Europe, analysts are expecting Samsung to achieve a record-high profit in the third quarter when Galaxy S3 sales are expected to reach a peak before Apple unveils its new iPhone, anticipated in October.
Analysts estimate that Samsung sold around 50m smartphones in the second quarter, including about 6.5m of the Galaxy S3 model.
Samsung's strong result come a few days after Apple reported earnings that fell short of expectations as consumers snapped up cheaper iPhones or delayed purchase in anticipation of a new iPhone model.
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