Samsung’s profits are slightly up during the COVID-19 outbreak
Samsung Electronics is one of the first major tech giants to announce earnings figures since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, and so far at least the company appears to have been relatively unaffected. In guidance released today, Samsung says its first-quarter revenue was approximately 55 trillion won ($44.9 billion), which would be a year-on-year increase of five percent. Operating profit is expected to rise three percent to 6.4 trillion won ($5.23 billion).
Samsung does not break down its earnings guidance by division or comment on its business performance until the final report is released later in the month. Daiwa Securities’ SK Kim suggests to CNBC that the company’s all-important memory chip unit is likely to perform well in the short term due to the extra demand on data centers as more people shift to working from home.
It seems inevitable, however, that Samsung’s consumer electronics businesses in particular will be affected by retail closures, supply chain disruption, and financial uncertainty. That may not yet be reflected in the company’s results just yet, but much will depend on how prolonged the pandemic turns out to be. Apple has already said it expects to miss its forecast for the quarter due to the impact of the coronavirus.
Samsung Electronics is one of the first major tech giants to announce earnings figures since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, and so far at least the company appears to have been relatively unaffected. In guidance released today, Samsung says its first-quarter revenue was approximately 55 trillion won ($44.9 billion), which…
