Samsung Electronics Co Ltd flagged a 23% increase in Q2 operating profit today, beating analysts’ estimates on solid chip sales to data centers catering for a work-from-home economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sales offset weak demand for smartphones and TVs, while one-off gains from its display business, which counts Apple Inc. as a customer, also raised profits, the company said.
They said operating profit was around 8.1 trillion won ($6.8 billion) in the Q2, far above the 6.4 trillion won analyst forecast by Refinitiv SmartEstimate. It would be the highest quarterly profit since the Q4 of 2018.
Revenue approximately dropped 7% to 52 trillion won from a year earlier, Samsung added, giving only limited data in a regulatory filing ahead of its full earnings figures later in July.