Samsung reports 28% jump in profit despite supply chain woes

South Korean tech elephantine Samsung Electronics posted a 28-percent leap successful operating nett connected Thursday contempt planetary proviso concatenation challenges caused by the pandemic.

The world's apical chipmaker saw its operating nett scope 15.8 trillion won ($13.5 billion) for the July-September period, it said successful a regulatory filing.

Its income roseate 10 percent on-year to a grounds 74 trillion won connected the backmost of beardown show from its representation spot part acknowledgment to sustained global demand.

"Favourable marketplace conditions continued successful the representation market" resulting successful "robust sales", the institution said successful a statement.

Operating profits generated from its semiconductor business accounted for implicit 60 percent of the total, illustrating the large relation the part plays to the sprawling group.

While the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc connected the world economy, it has helped galore tech companies boom.

Pandemic-driven moving from location has boosted request for devices powered by Samsung's chips, arsenic good arsenic home appliances specified arsenic televisions and washing machines.

Consumer request for high-end products specified arsenic foldable phones is besides expected to further boost profits going into the vacation season, said Loo Wee Teck, planetary caput of user electronics astatine Euromonitor.

"Its foldable phones volition proceed to beryllium Samsung's halo merchandise and a nett haven arsenic determination is astir nary competition... arsenic we determination into the captious holiday season," helium said.

But the steadfast has acknowledged it would proceed to beryllium affected by proviso shortages for representation chips, noting "a longer-than-expected constituent proviso contented whitethorn request to beryllium monitored".

Supply concatenation problems are hitting economic activity astir the world, with companies facing shortages of cardinal commodities, components and shipping capacity.

Samsung Electronics is the flagship subsidiary of the elephantine Samsung group, by acold the largest of the family-controlled empires known arsenic chaebols that predominate concern successful South Korea, the world's 12th largest economy.

The conglomerate's wide turnover is equivalent to one-fifth of gross home product.

Samsung Electronics shares closed up 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, LG Electronics, South Korea's second-largest appliance steadfast aft Samsung, saw its operating nett shrink by 49.6 percent successful the 3rd 4th on-year to 540 cardinal won. Its shares closed flat.

'Exemplary behaviour'

The net study came 2 days aft Lee Jae-yong, the firm's vice-chairman and the de facto person of the wider-Samsung conglomerate, was convicted of illegally utilizing the anaesthetic propofol and ordered to wage 70 cardinal won successful fines.

Lee was accused of having repeatedly taken the shots astatine a integrative country session successful Seoul implicit respective years, an enactment helium said had "occurred owed to my shortcomings" but insisted was for "medical purposes".

But the justice urged him to "adopt exemplary behaviour that your children volition not beryllium embarrassed by" successful a verdict work retired to a court.

The ruling came 3 months aft Lee walked retired of situation connected parole aft having served conscionable implicit fractional of a 2 and a fractional twelvemonth condemnation for bribery, embezzlement and different offences successful transportation with a corruption ungraded that brought down ex-South Korean president Park Geun-hye.

The aboriginal merchandise was seen arsenic the latest illustration of South Korea freeing connected economical grounds concern leaders imprisoned for corruption oregon tax evasion.

His instrumentality to absorption has eased concerns implicit decision-making astatine Samsung.

But his ineligible woes are acold from over.

The Samsung scion remains connected proceedings connected abstracted accusations of manipulating a takeover to creaseless his succession astatine the apical of the conglomerate—the aforesaid contention implicit which helium was said to person sought assistance from Park.

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© 2021 AFP