Samsung is forecasting that its first-quarter operating profit will hit $5.7 billion—a gain of about 10 percent from the same period last year—while its operating profit will rise 4 percent in this interval.
For the struggling smartphone and consumer electronics maker, its earnings guidance report, released April 7, brings better news after several quarters of disappointment and lackluster performance.
The guidance report forecasts sales revenue of about 49 trillion Korean won, up about 4 percent from 47.1 trillion won a year ago, and an operating profit for the quarter of about 6.6 trillion Korean won, or about $5.7 billion. That’s up about 10 percent from a year ago when the company posted a 6 trillion won operating profit, according to Samsung.
The 6 trillion won profit estimate is notable because it is higher than the 5.5 trillion won forecast by analysts surveyed by FactSet, according to an April 7 Associated Press report.
Samsung’s first-quarter improved performance that led to the upbeat forecast could be the result of higher sales due to the company’s latest Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge flagship smartphones (pictured), which went on sale in March.
The latest Galaxy S7 Edge and S7 handsets are water-resistant and are powered by Qualcomm quad-core 2.15GHz/1.6GHz processors for U.S. users and include 4GB of LPDDR4 memory, 32GB of built-in storage, microSD expansion slots, a 12-megapixel dual-pixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The Galaxy S7 Edge features a 5.5-inch quad-HD Super AMOLED display and a screen that wraps around both right and left edges of the device, while the Galaxy S7 has a 5.1-inch quad-HD Super AMOLED display.
Additional details of the company’s first-quarter performance will come later this month when Samsung holds its earnings call.
Samsung’s fourth-quarter 2015 revenue, reported in late January, was up slightly, while its operating profit was down from the prior quarter as the global electronics company continued its pattern of sluggish sales over the last several quarters.
In a Jan. 28 announcement, Samsung reported an operating profit of $5.05 billion (6.14 trillion Korean won) for the fourth quarter of 2015, down from the $6.4 billion the company posted in the third quarter. The company’s fourth-quarter consolidated revenue was $44 billion (53.32 trillion KRW), up from the 51.68 trillion KRW in the third quarter. The fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2015.
For the full year, Samsung reported total revenue of $166 billion (200.65 trillion KRW) and an operating profit of $22 billion (26.41 trillion KRW). That compares with 2014 revenue of 206.21 trillion KRW and operating profit of 25.03 trillion KRW.