Samsung Electronics quarterly net profit falls 38.8 pct year on year

Samsung Electronics registered a net profit of $4.35 billion in the January to March quarter, a year on year fall of 38.8 percent, the company said Wednesday.

The operating profit of the South Korean multinational shrank 29.6 percent over the same period to $5.61 billion, according to financial statements presented Wednesday.

Global sales for the quarter totaled $44.2 billion, an interannual drop of 12.2 percent.

Compared with the previous OctoberDecember quarter, net profit dropped 13.5 percent while operating profit grew 13 percent and sales fell 10.7 percent.

Samsung hopes to return to growth in the April to June quarter, after several quarters of sharp declines in profits and sales, mainly due to reduced earnings from Samsung’s mobile phone unit.

This division, which accounts for almost half of sales, saw sales reduced by 20.4 percent year on year.

In 2014, the firm’s operating profit dropped 32 percent on falling turnover from its mobile phone and smart devices businesses.

In that year, Apple and Chinese manufacturers gained ground on their South Korean competitor partly because of the lukewarm reception of the Galaxy S5 phone, which the company replaced this month with the Galaxy S6.

Analysts suggest the success or failure of the S6 will determine the next set of results for the South Korean multinational.

Some local analysts suggest the new smartphone will help Samsung return to market dominance while others consider its potential overestimated and it unlikely to outcompete Apple’s iPhone 6.