Samsung Electronics is expected to post the record-high earnings of about 10 trillion won ($9.17 billion) during the second quarter this year, according to a financial information provider.
The Korean tech giant is projected to see its operating profit come to 9.8 trillion won in the April-June period of 2013, up 53.4 percent from the same period last year, according to FnGuide.
It cited the currency market stabilization and the government’s package of measures to boost the economy for its rosy outlook on the chipmaker.
“Unfavorable factors involving the Japanese yen’s weaker position against the Korean won have been eased,” it said.
Further, experts believe the U.S. dollar’s gain on the Korean won will have a positive impact on sales of local exporters, especially carmakers and information technology firms.
This can offset worries over the cheap yen, which has been hurting Korean firms’ competitive edge over Japanese firms.
“In addition, the government plans to draw up an extra budget totaling 20 trillion won.”
The Finance Ministry has also said it would spend more than 60 percent of the state budget, set at 342 trillion won, “in the first half” to reinvigorate the economy.
Some research analysts also issue the possibility that the quarterly operating profit of Samsung Electronics will surpass 10 trillion won.
Their forecast is based on possibly brisk sales of the Galaxy S4, a smartphone which will be released in the global market, starting in April.
Analysts project Samsung to sell roughly 22 million Galaxy S4 smartphones in the April-June period. The handset, operating on both third-generation and 4G networks, will likely be shipped to 155 countries to be serviced by 327 mobile operators starting from the end of April.
The FnGuide data also showed that 72.9 percent of listed Korean firms expected to see their quarterly operating profit improve from a year earlier. The data includes 118 companies whose second-quarter earnings estimates were available.
In terms of net profit, 79.7 percent of the listed firms are likely to see their bottom lines improve on-year thanks to signs of a global economic recovery and the government’s economic stimulus measures.
Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors are projected to reap 2.3 trillion won and 997 billion won, respectively, in second-quarter operating profit.
SK Hynix will see the earnings reach 382 billion won, buoyed by vitalization in DRAM sales, said the financial info provider.
By Kim Yon-se (
kys@heraldcorp.com)
