For the first time in two years, Samsung suffered a decline in profits in the past quarter. The South Korean technology group today pointed to difficult conditions in the smartphone and chip markets. The world market leader in these areas earned from October to December 2018 according to preliminary estimates according to the operational business equivalent to 8.42 billion euros.
This corresponds to a decrease of 29 percent compared to the same period in 2017. Thus, the analyst estimates were missed significantly. The turnover had fallen by eleven percent.
Further declining profits expected
Details on the quarterly result will be published later in January. Behind the declines is probably the weaker economic development in China. The American archrival Apple had recently worried the world’s stock markets with weak numbers.
For the first time since the introduction of the iPhone more than ten years ago, the Californians missed their sales forecast – also because of weaknesses in China in the course of the trade dispute with the United States.
Samsung further said the earnings in the first quarter of 2019 will also be restrained. Especially the business with memory chips is difficult. Analysts expect declining profits as the year progresses.
