Surging smartphones drive record profits for Samsung

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Samsung posted record preliminary quarterly profits on Friday, largely due to continued growth in smartphone sales, though it also saw a boost from several one-time gains.



The South Korean handset maker reported 5.2 trillion won ($4.5 billion) in operating profit from the December quarter, besting a consensus forecast of 4.7 trillion won ($4.1 billion), as noted by Reuters. However, company officials cautioned that actual profit could fluctuate by 200 billion won when a more detailed earnings report arrives later in January.



The current results would surpass Samsung's previous record of 5.0 trillion won in profit from the second quarter of 2010. Samsung's fourth quarter 2011 performance is also a marked improvement from the third quarter, when record handset profits were offset by poor performance from its semiconductor and display businesses.



Samsung has seen a rapid ascent since it turned its attention to the smartphone market in 2010. In the third quarter of 2010, the company had just 7.5 million global smartphone shipments, compared to an estimated 27.8 million units in the third quarter of 2011, according to one market research firm.



The company is believed to have achieved 25 percent sequential growth in smartphone shipments to reach a record 35 million units in the last quarter of 2011. Apple and Samsung could end up in a close race for the title of world's largest smartphone vendor during the December quarter, as one recent analysis has suggested Apple may also have shipped 35 million iPhones during the period.



While surging smartphone sales did play a substantial role in Samsung's increased profits in the most recent quarter, it also benefited from a one-time gain of 500 billion won for selling its hard disk drive business to Seagate, as well as "reduced mobile provisions involving royalty payments," the report noted analysts as saying.



Looking ahead, analysts were generally upbeat about Samsung's prospects, especially for smartphones. BNP Paribas and Korea Investment & Securities expect Samsung to sell 170 million smartphones in 2012, according to the report.



"Samsung has traditionally seen its first-quarter profit drop from the fourth quarter, but profit will hold up well, reaching between 4.5 trillion won and 5.0 trillion won, with smartphone sales expected to rise further," said Daewoo Securities analyst Song Jong-ho.



Kim Yun-sang, a fund manager at IBK Asset Management, told Reuters: "As expectations for Apple to continue its innovation trail is receding a bit, this will be the year when Samsung solidifies its commanding lead in the smartphone market." It should be noted, however, that the firm has a stake in Samsung.



The growing rivalry between Samsung and Apple over smartphone and tablet dominance has spread to the courtroom. The two companies are engaged in a series of legal disagreements across multiple countries. Most recently, Samsung was denied a preliminary injunction against the iPhone 4S in Italy, its third such rejection in Europe.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    blitz1blitz1 Posts: 449member
    Well, congrats seem to be in order.



    I'd love to see on of their Note. Could be a great input device for whatever electronics device. Something you can do without having to adhere to some "made for..". program. When will Apple open up bluetooth?
  • Reply 2 of 17
    Congrats to Samesung. Selling phones off the back of Apple. I can only hope that eventually Samesung stops copying Apple and can be creative in their own right. Stand by for the Samesung copy machine to move into high speed once the ipad 3 and iphone 5 are released.
  • Reply 3 of 17
    aizmovaizmov Posts: 989member
    Samsung should tread carefully, with no one to copy they are lost. [1]



    [1] According to admission by several Samsung managers as told in the book Sony vs. Samsung which I've recently finished.
  • Reply 4 of 17
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Aizmov View Post


    Samsung should tread carefully, with no one to copy they are lost. [1]



    [1] According to admission by several Samsung managers as told in the book Sony vs. Samsung which I've recently finished.



    Lucky for them that there's always someone to copy. Saying theres no one to copy is the same as saying nobodys being successful. As someone is always successful there's always someone to copy.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    sleepy3sleepy3 Posts: 244member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Aizmov View Post


    Samsung should tread carefully, with no one to copy they are lost. [1]



    [1] According to admission by several Samsung managers as told in the book Sony vs. Samsung which I've recently finished.



    Yeah, kinda like how they won the SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER OF PATENTS IN THE US IN 2010.



    http://www.myoffshorecompanies.com/2...-patents-2010/



    How does a company that copies so much actually win the most patents second only to IBM? What you are saying makes no sense.



    Then again, they did blatantly steal super amoled plus and flexible displays from the iphone
  • Reply 6 of 17
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sleepy3 View Post


    Yeah, kinda like how they won the SECOND HIGHEST NUMBER OF PATENTS IN THE US IN 2010.



    http://www.myoffshorecompanies.com/2...-patents-2010/



    How does a company that copies so much actually win the most patents second only to IBM? What you are saying makes no sense.



    Then again, they did blatantly steal super amoled plus and flexible displays from the iphone



    Both IBM and Samsung are umbrella names over a collection of separate corporations all run under their respective lines.



    http://www.latestpatents.com/samsung...12/#more-16066



    This is typical of reporting large numbers of patents when you have several corporate entities under your brand.



    Microsoft being 3rd is impressive by numbers, but wake me up when they produce a list of patents directly applied to products in the space that Apple, Microsoft, IBM and Samsung compete directly with one another.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,531member
    It would appear that Android might someday become synonymous with Samsung. If that happens, then the fragmentation problem is solved. But it also means that Google will have lost control of its platform. Samsung could just take the most recent Android build from Google, fork it, and never look back.
  • Reply 8 of 17
    sleepy3sleepy3 Posts: 244member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    Both IBM and Samsung are umbrella names over a collection of separate corporations all run under their respective lines.



    http://www.latestpatents.com/samsung...12/#more-16066



    This is typical of reporting large numbers of patents when you have several corporate entities under your brand.



    Microsoft being 3rd is impressive by numbers, but wake me up when they produce a list of patents directly applied to products in the space that Apple, Microsoft, IBM and Samsung compete directly with one another.



    Maybe you may want to go through that list of 4000+ patents and see how many relate to direct competition against apple, cause just from that list you posted most seem geared towards it technology and mobile communications (such as cameras, back server tech, display tech, data handling methods, etc). Some of them deal with other devices, but that only goes to show that they innovate on wide variety of fronts, unlike other companies that only focus on one area.



    Samsung is one of the most innovative corporations in the world. Just cause they were not the first to figure out the rectangle doesn't mean all they do is copy. And their frankly ridiculous pace at gathering patents from all over the spectrum of industry proves that.



    Seriously, people here make it look they do no research at all when in reality, they do more research than 99% of the companies in the world.
  • Reply 9 of 17
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Blastdoor View Post


    It would appear that Android might someday become synonymous with Samsung. If that happens, then the fragmentation problem is solved. But it also means that Google will have lost control of its platform. Samsung could just take the most recent Android build from Google, fork it, and never look back.



    That sounds like what Amazon is doing with Kindle Fire and their future tablet line..
  • Reply 10 of 17
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sleepy3 View Post


    Maybe you may want to go through that list of 4000+ patents and see how many relate to direct competition against apple, cause just from that list you posted most seem geared towards it technology and mobile communications (such as cameras, back server tech, display tech, data handling methods, etc). Some of them deal with other devices, but that only goes to show that they innovate on wide variety of fronts, unlike other companies that only focus on one area.



    Samsung is one of the most innovative corporations in the world. Just cause they were not the first to figure out the rectangle doesn't mean all they do is copy. And their frankly ridiculous pace at gathering patents from all over the spectrum of industry proves that.



    Seriously, people here make it look they do no research at all when in reality, they do more research than 99% of the companies in the world.



    Sigh - while it is nice having a Samsung shill chime in on the thread, you need to be more specific. And again, innovation is not directly linked to patents, as their rapid reconfiguration of the Galaxy Tab following the announcement of the iPad 2 demonstrates rather nicely. In fact they completely re-worked packaging and everything in order to mimic as closely as they could the iPad 2. You can't argue that, it's in plain evidence.



    The claims here are not that they do NO research, its just that the research they do seems to be everyone else's successful products. If they are in fact the world leader in innovative products, where is the device that becomes the next iPad, or the next iPhone disruptive innovation? Anything? All of their product development seems to be either iterative within their existing successful product lines, or imitative when not as successful. Nothing wrong with that, they are still very profitable. But you haven't demonstrated effectively that their research producing anything truly disruptively innovative as Apple does.
  • Reply 11 of 17
    sleepy3sleepy3 Posts: 244member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by fecklesstechguy View Post


    Sigh - while it is nice having a Samsung shill chime in on the thread, you need to be more specific. And again, innovation is not directly linked to patents, as their rapid reconfiguration of the Galaxy Tab following the announcement of the iPad 2 demonstrates rather nicely. In fact they completely re-worked packaging and everything in order to mimic as closely as they could the iPad 2. You can't argue that, it's in plain evidence.



    The claims here are not that they do NO research, its just that the research they do seems to be everyone else's successful products. If they are in fact the world leader in innovative products, where is the device that becomes the next iPad, or the next iPhone disruptive innovation? Anything? All of their product development seems to be either iterative within their existing successful product lines, or imitative when not as successful. Nothing wrong with that, they are still very profitable. But you haven't demonstrated effectively that their research producing anything truly disruptively innovative as Apple does.



    So they only patent other people's technology instead of their own ideas.....riiiiiiggghhttt. That's totally possible, people are awarded patents for existing pateneted products all the time.



    Hope when you are using your ipad6 with its bendable display technology (while posting about how the other android and windows tablets have copied it as well) and watching your oxide semiconductor 3d TV (as won best of show at display week this year) you'll remember who was the company that didn't do any research to develop it and just patented other people's patented ideas.
  • Reply 12 of 17
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    What they reported is called felony grand theft.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sleepy3 View Post


    Maybe you may want to go through that list of 4000+ patents and see how many relate to direct competition against apple, cause just from that list you posted most seem geared towards it technology and mobile communications (such as cameras, back server tech, display tech, data handling methods, etc). Some of them deal with other devices, but that only goes to show that they innovate on wide variety of fronts, unlike other companies that only focus on one area.



    Samsung is one of the most innovative corporations in the world. Just cause they were not the first to figure out the rectangle doesn't mean all they do is copy. And their frankly ridiculous pace at gathering patents from all over the spectrum of industry proves that.



    Seriously, people here make it look they do no research at all when in reality, they do more research than 99% of the companies in the world.



    Wow, new member just this month. Looks like we have a new troll in our midst.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    freerangefreerange Posts: 1,597member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sleepy3 View Post


    So they only patent other people's technology instead of their own ideas.....riiiiiiggghhttt. That's totally possible, people are awarded patents for existing pateneted products all the time.



    Hope when you are using your ipad6 with its bendable display technology (while posting about how the other android and windows tablets have copied it as well) and watching your oxide semiconductor 3d TV (as won best of show at display week this year) you'll remember who was the company that didn't do any research to develop it and just patented other people's patented ideas.



    You somehow fail to see or acknowledge that Samsung's greatest financial success has come from copying others, NOT through innovation. What part of this do you not understand? How about some full disclosure of who you work for?
  • Reply 15 of 17
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FreeRange View Post


    What they reported is called felony grand theft.



    Looking at Moto and HTC's quarterly results it's looking like Samsung's gamble of blatantly stealing Apple's IP was the best move for an Android-based vendor to make. Regardless of whether it's moral, they are to the Android OS market what Apple is to the smartphone market. From a business perspective it's looking like Samsung made the right move in playing copycat.
  • Reply 16 of 17
    eric475eric475 Posts: 177member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sleepy3 View Post


    Maybe you may want to go through that list of 4000+ patents and see how many relate to direct competition against apple, cause just from that list you posted most seem geared towards it technology and mobile communications (such as cameras, back server tech, display tech, data handling methods, etc). Some of them deal with other devices, but that only goes to show that they innovate on wide variety of fronts, unlike other companies that only focus on one area.



    Samsung is one of the most innovative corporations in the world. Just cause they were not the first to figure out the rectangle doesn't mean all they do is copy. And their frankly ridiculous pace at gathering patents from all over the spectrum of industry proves that.



    Seriously, people here make it look they do no research at all when in reality, they do more research than 99% of the companies in the world.



    Apple fanboys don't care how many patents Microsoft, IBM or Samsung have, no matter how significant they are. They only care about APPLE IP PATENTS such as a rectangular design with a glossy black bezel. That is the holy grail to the legion of fanboys. Anything that's rectangular with a hint of black is sacred to the fanboy design-patent policing community. You cannot win. Counterarguing is futile.
  • Reply 17 of 17
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    Both IBM and Samsung are umbrella names over a collection of separate corporations all run under their respective lines.



    http://www.latestpatents.com/samsung...12/#more-16066



    This is typical of reporting large numbers of patents when you have several corporate entities under your brand.



    Microsoft being 3rd is impressive by numbers, but wake me up when they produce a list of patents directly applied to products in the space that Apple, Microsoft, IBM and Samsung compete directly with one another.



    Sorry to interject facts into your attempted deflection but the patents being enumerated were just those awarded to Samsung Electronics - just one division.



    Most of Apple's iOS based products are full to the gills with Samsung invented and manufactured tech. Much of it based on patents they were granted for their non-innovativeness.



    Oh, the irony.



    Apple 'invent' a rectangle with rounded corners and a black rim around the display - just like the Photo display frame Samsung made years ago, and somehow that gets elevated to being the most significant iP of the century. Meanwhile Samsung invent ultra-lightweight, bendable and transparent OLED displays and the world's first full colour display based on quantum dots. How unimpressive of Samsung, they really are lazy and dull. Can't really compare such trivia to arranging icons in a grid pattern, though, or packaging your product in a box.
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