Samsung has reported its Q3 2015 earnings, and as expected they see an end to an extended slide.
At the beginning of October, the electronics giant predicted a dramatic return to profitability for the last quarter – and so it has proved.
After suffering year-on-year profit drops across each of the last seven quarters, Samsung has seen its profits increase. It made 7.39 trillion Korean won (£4.23 billion) in operating profit for Q3, which is up dramatically from 4.1 trillion won (£2.3 billion) during the same period last year.
Samsung’s Q3 revenue grew six percent compared to last quarter, which was driven mainly by its flourishing semiconductor and display panel businesses. Meanwhile the company attributes its increase in operating profit to a favourable exchange rate.
That won’t continue into Q4, Samsung says, where it expects profits to decline due to that same fluctuating exchange rate.
Related: iPhone 6S Plus vs Note 5 vs S6 Edge+
Samsung’s smartphone business still isn’t quite pulling its weight, according to these Q3 figures. While the division’s 2.4 trillion won (£1.3 billion) operating profit represents an increase from the 1.75 trillion (£1 billion) made this time last year, it’s also a drop from the 2.76 trillion (£1.58 billion) made in Q2.
While the company admits that “Samsung saw a significant increase in sales of smartphones in the quarter, compared with the second quarter,” its price cut of the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and a higher proportion of mid-range handset sales damaged profits.
Samsung is expecting stronger smartphone sales in Q4. Beyond that, it anticipates that the smartphone market will slow in 2016
See how the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ compares to its little brother:
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
