Ahead of its full quarterly report scheduled for April 27, Samsung Electronics today estimated its operating profits for the three-month period that ended in March. Estimated at 5.8 trillion won or $5.15 billion USD, that is nearly double the company’s results from the same quarter a year ago and up from the roughly 5 trillion won originally forecasted by analysts. While attributing the strong quarter to the Galaxy Note, the report from Reuters noted Samsung is “set to consolidate its market position with new products” over the next few months, including a “revamped Galaxy S” that will compete with Apple’s next iPhone:
Samsung, which raced to the top of the global smartphone rankings last year with close to a fifth of the market, from just 3 percent in 2009, is set to go head-to-head with Apple this quarter with the expected launch of a revamped Galaxy S, its flagship smartphone, and Apple’s next iPhone.
Reuters’ survey of analysts predicted Samsung shipped approximately 44 million smartphones during Q1, accounting for an increase of 25 percent when compared to stats from the quarter before. According to analysts who spoke with Reuters, Samsung’s higher-than-expected estimates were largely fueled by strong sales of the Galaxy Note hybrid smartphone/tablet, which sold over 5 million units since launching in October 2011.
Lee Ka-keun of Hana Daetoo Securities said, “Higher-than-expected shipments of the Galaxy Note seem to have given an upside to earnings. Note sales will increase further in the second quarter, and handset profit will grow despite a rise in marketing costs related to the London Olympics.”
Samsung, currently Asia’s most valuable technology company worth roughly $191 billion, will release its full quarterly earnings report later this month on April 27.
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