profit likely rose in fourth quarter

SINGAPORE — Samsung Electronics on Friday said its operating profit for the quarter that ended in December likely rose 26% from a year ago to 9 trillion Korean won ($8.22 billion).

It was mostly in line with analysts’ estimate of 9.1 trillion won, according to Refinitiv SmartEstimate.

Samsung Electronics shares in South Korea jumped 1.33% in early trade.

The company said its fourth-quarter consolidated sales likely came in at 61 trillion won, up almost 2% from a year earlier. Samsung did not break down how each business unit performed including its main profit-making semiconductor business.

Both operating profit and consolidated sales fell on quarter-on-quarter basis.

In the three months between July to September, the world’s largest smartphone maker posted a 59% on-year jump in operating profit to 12.35 trillion won, partly due to a boost in demand for smartphones and consumer electronics. But Samsung had said it expected profits to decline in the December quarter due to weak memory chip demand and intense competition in the smartphone space.

Full results for the December quarter are due later this month.

Samsung is expected to launch the newest versions of its flagship Galaxy smartphones next Thursday, earlier than usual.