Samsung reports $4.5B operating profit due to Seagate deal, smartphone sales

Samsung Electronics reported a record quarterly profit Friday due to leading sales of high-end phones and a gain from selling its hard-disk drive business.

The South Korean company  posted 5.2 trillion won, or $4.5 billion USD, in quarterly operating profit. The figure pummeled Reuters’ consensus forecast of 4.7 trillion won, where the news wire said actual profit “may rise or fall by 200 billion won from the preliminary figure when the firm provides detailed earnings later this month.”

Reuters further elaborated after the profits were posted that the result would “top Samsung’s previous record profit of 5.0 trillion won earned in the second quarter of 2010 and is up 22 percent from the preceding quarter.”

Meanwhile, Reuters contended, Samsung’s one-off gains predicted for the fourth quarter include the sale of its hard-disk drive business to Seagate Technology that amassed around 500 billion won, and the lowered mobile provisions involving royalty payments…

Samsung blazed by Apple in 2011’s third quarter as the world’s top smartphone manufacturer, and the firm is rapidly declaring dominion with the success of its smartphone models such as the Galaxy line. Smartphone record sales trumped 300 million units last year as Galaxy smartphones helped pull consumers from competition.

Moreover, Samsung is currently Asia’s most valuable technology company with a market value of around $150 billion.