Samsung's 3Q profits down 14 percent

Ohio Standard Saturday 16th October, 2004

Seoul-based Samsung Electronics said its third quarter net profit fell 14.2 percent from the previous quarter as flat screen TV display sales declined.

The Korea Times reported Saturday the world's largest liquid crystal display maker said price declines of large panels and weak demand led to a sharp fall in LCD sales and operating profit.

Despite net income rising 46.2 percent from a year earlier, investors and analysts were concerned about the company's earnings outlook.

LCD prices dropped sharper than expected and handset sales were also disappointing, said the brokerage firm Daewoo Securities.

Outlook after the fourth is likely to be mixed, depending on the economic cycle of each business division. Semiconductors seem to be improving but the outlook for the LCD market is uncertain in the fourth quarter.