Samsung Elec says third-quarter profit likely up 79.8 percent, beating

Operating income jumped to 7.3 trillion won ($6.3 billion) in the quarter ended September, compared with the 6.7 trillion-won average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Aside from the operating profit of Samsung, the company did not release any commentary for the results of the quarter.

Its semiconductor division is expected to have remained the top earner for the fifth straight quarter, analysts said.

Operating profit at the consumer-electronics division, which oversees TVs and appliances, probably quintupled to 260 billion won on sales of 11.4 trillion won, according to the survey.

Dongbu Securities analyst Yoo Eui-hyung estimated the favourable currency rate added about 300 billion won to operating profit. Even though they are still the largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world, the Korean giant has been losing sales every quarter, signaling distress among the investors and resulting in a drop in market share and margins.

Samsung did not provide breakdowns for each division, but Meritz Securities estimated the IT and mobile sector including smartphone businesses reaped a 2.1-trillion won operating profit in the third quarter, down from the previous quarter’s 2.7-trillion won.

After all the hand-wringing over Samsung’s slowing profits, the Galaxy maker released third-quarter guidance Wednesday that surprised and delighted investors. That’s not just higher than analysts expected, it’s around 78 percent higher than the same period past year. Yet Samsung could also soon face pressure in chips as global supply outpaces demand, especially amid a slowing economy in China.

“Samsung is at a standstill”, said Kim Hyun-su, fund manager for IBK Asset Management.

“A bendable display can be one example”, Soh added.

The mobile payment system supports magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology that works on traditional credit card machines.

Shares of the company closed up 8.7%, its biggest daily gain since January 2009. Removing more than $1 billion of stock from the market could prompt shares to rally by as much as 20 percent, according to the top-ranked analyst covering Samsung, potentially erasing their declines this year.