Keystone-SDA
This content was published on October 8, 2024 – 12:20
(Keystone-ATS) South Korean giant Samsung Electronics promised its investors “a fresh start” on Tuesday after acknowledging that its profits had not increased as much as the market had hoped despite strong demand linked to the ‘artificial intelligence.
As it is due to release its third quarter financial results at the end of the month, Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s largest semiconductor producers, gave an estimate of its operating profit for the period from July to September of 9,100 billion won (6.1 billion euros).
This is almost three times more than the same period a year earlier but 12% below the average expectations calculated by the Yonhap agency.
Third quarter turnover is estimated by Samsung to increase by 17.2% to 79,000 billion won (around 53 billion euros).
Samsung shares fell 1.31% in afternoon trading in Seoul, with the decline approaching 30% over the past six months.
Rarely, Samsung management accompanied these estimates with a press release addressed to its customers, investors and employees.
“Due to results below market expectations, concerns have arisen about our fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company,” notes Jun Young-hyun, one of the members of the management team.
“Many people are talking about a crisis hitting Samsung,” he adds. “We will ensure that the serious situation we are currently facing becomes an opportunity for a new beginning. »
Competition on HBMs
Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of Samsung Group, the largest of the family-owned conglomerates that dominate Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
This tech giant is one of the world’s largest producers of semiconductors, used today in everything from household appliances and cell phones to cars and weapons.
Samsung is also one of the few global producers to manufacture HBM (high bandwidth memories), used in particular in artificial intelligence systems.
But according to Jene Park, of the financial analysis company Counterpoint Research interviewed by AFP, the company is suffering in particular from delays in the production of the new generation of HBMs.
“In the smartphone sector, sales of new foldable devices appear to be lower than expected, as competition between vendors intensifies,” he added.
Samsung is also lagging behind SK Hynix in this sector, and has “lost a significant number of employees” to this competitor, according to Kim Dae-jong, a researcher at Sejong University in Seoul.
At the beginning of October, Samsung Electronics said it planned to cut jobs in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, explaining that it wanted to “improve operational efficiency”.
