Samsung issues Q4 2015 guidance, profit up 15% year-on-year

Samsung has issued its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter of 2015, and things look to be heading in the right direction, albeit slowly. Samsung estimates that its profit for the quarter reached 6.1 trillion Korean Won, or roughly $5.1 billion US Dollars. That was based on estimated sales worth 53.0 trillion Korean Won ($44B USD).

While other Android smartphone makers are struggling to make any progress financially, Samsung’s Q4 estimates (if accurate) will see them beat last year’s final quarter profits by 0.8 trillion Korean Won, or approximately $666 million USD. That’s an increase of 15% year-on-year.

If anything, it shows that Samsung’s 2015 focus on creating fewer, but higher quality handsets is working. A big part of that focus was moving away from the plastic flagships of the past to make solid, glass and metal handsets with market-leading specifications.

Rather unusually, however, Samsung did see a quarter-on-quarter drop from Q3 2015, in which it made 7.4 trillion Korean Won. Holiday sales are usually stronger than any other quarter for most tech companies, so Samsung may be a little worried to see the 18% drop from Q3 even if Q4 was an improvement on the same quarter in 2014. One explanation, of course, is that Samsung released its last high-end flagship smartphone right in the middle of Q3, while many other competitors waited until October/November.

As 2016 rolls in, the competitive landscape is only going to get tougher for Samsung. Companies like Huawei and Xiaomi are expected to renew their focus on markets where Samsung is normally very strong. And, if Huawei’s 2015 performance is anything to go by, Samsung should definitely be keeping an eye over its shoulder.