Biggest phone-maker by market share, Samsung, has been severely hit by a major decline in the chip market. In its Q2 2019 earnings, the company posted an operating profit of $5.6 billion, which is down by a whopping 56% compared to last year while consolidated revenue came in at $47.4 billion.
However, compared to the first quarter of the year, both revenue and operating profit increased. Weakness in the memory market was the primary reasons behind the massive plunge. Samsung says it expects demand for memory chips to grow in the second half of the year but warns volatility in the market is likely to persist.
Samsung’s mobile business posted consolidated revenue of $21.86 billion (25.86 trillion won) and operating profit of $1.32 billion (1.56trillion won) for the quarter.
Even though the global smartphone market saw demand decline during the quarter, Samsung’s smartphone shipments increased over the previous partner, driven by the success of new Galaxy A series phones such as the Galaxy A50 and A70.
However, sales of its flagship Galaxy S10 fell compared to Q1, apparently due to stagnant demand for premium products in the market.
The consumer electronics division did quite well in the second quarter, posting $9.36 billion (11.07 trillion won) in consolidated revenue.
Samsung is planning to maximize end-year sales of large-screen TVs by “positioning QLED 8K TVs as mainstream TVs.” It will also focus on lifestyle products such as Bespoke refrigerators and AirDressers in the second half of the year.
In the third quarter, Samsung says it will focus on the launch of the “innovative” Galaxy Note 10 and expanding its 5G smartphone lineup.
In the meantime, four months after it delayed the retail launch of the Samsung Galaxy Fold’s screen phone, Samsung said it has made “improvements” to protect the Galaxy Fold’s screen and will begin selling the folding phone soon, Samsung now says the Galaxy Fold will be available for purchase at an unspecified date in September. Samsung has confirmed the price will remain the same as before, $1,980.
