Samsung reports 8 percent drop in 2Q profit

Operating profit at the division almost halved year-on-year, to KRW 2.76 trillion from KRW 4.42 trillion.

Samsung, which had projected record sales for the S6, started manufacturing curved screens at a third factory about two months earlier than planned to meet demand for the Edge. It’s a far cry from just a few years ago, when the company could still rely on its mobile division to deliver major profits – especially in China. That compares with the 6 trillion-won average of 26 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg and is the fifth straight decline.

The release of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge did not help Samsung in Q2.

Samsung’s April-June net income was 5.8tn won (US$5bn/£3.2bn), down 8% from 6.3tn won a year earlier.

Its second quarter profit increased to 3.4 trillion won from 1.86 trillion won a year earlier.

Its semiconductor business was one of the few bright spots, with sales up 15 percent and operating profit up 55 percent.

Samsung rolled out its new Galaxy S series in April, but the new smartphones failed to capture hearts of Chinese consumers. He is a vice chairman at Samsung who is widely expected to succeed his ailing father.

Samsung is considering adjusting the prices of both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge after less than impressive sales contributed to a slump in its smartphone earnings.

Part of the problem was that Samsung couldn’t get S6 phones into the distribution channel fast enough to answer demand, according to the company.

Samsung executives did not give many details during the conference call about whether the company would tweak its mobile strategies.

A visitor watches a Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy S6 smartphone at a Samsung Electronics shop in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 30, 2015.

Apparently, Samsung is targeting to stay ahead of Apple by debuting the Galaxy Note 5 before the latter’s iPhone 6S, which is rumored to come out in September.

Although the new S6 Edge delivered a new design as promised, it did not translate into revenue for the smartphone maker as expected.

At a separate board meeting, Samsung also doubled interim dividend to 1,000 won per share.