South Korean giant Samsung Electronics posted an operating income of $10.6 billion (12.3 trillion won)in the three months ended September, beating the 10 trillion won average of market estimates.
In comparison to the numbers posted last year, Samsung’s operating profit has jumped substantially by 58% from $6.73 billion (7.78 trillion won), and sales have risen by 6.45% from $53.61 billion (62 trillion won). The company’s sales and operating profit in Q2 2020 were 52.97 trillion won and 8.15 trillion won, respectively.
These are preliminary numbers, called the official 'Earning Guidance' and the company is expected to post final results by the end of this month. If the revenue estimate is confirmed, it will mark Samsung’s largest-ever quarterly sales.
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India may have helped Samsung
Samsung's impressive show has come through higher sales of home appliances, semiconductor chips, and smartphones.
The South Korean electronics behemoth has also benefited from a US ban on Chinese tech company Huawei that came into effect from mid-September.
Samsung was also aided by the fact that its smartphone shipments jumped to around 80 million units from 54.2 million in the previous quarter, with demand rebounding from a contraction caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Media reports also say Apple delaying the launch of its 5G iPhones also helped Samsung to maintain its buoyancy.
And there may be a major Indian angle to Samsung's creditable performance. With anti-Chinese sentiment at a major high in India, Samsung has been able to move up in the ladder in the Indian smartphone market. Till August, Samsung led the overall mobile phone market in India with a sizable market share of 24%. It was followed by Xiaomi and Vivo.
Galaxy A and Galaxy Note 20 series under spotlight
Globally, Samsung's Galaxy A series and the Galaxy Note 20 series did well. Huawei went past Samsung to become the world’s largest smartphone maker in the second quarter, but the Korean company is expected to regain the crown after its Chinese rival lost access to the most advanced components that go into its Android devices.
Samsung’s home appliance business also got a boost as the work-from-home situation reportedly helped drive demand for high-end TVs and other home appliances.
The chip prices, which are falling, can be a damper on Samsung’s performance in the final quarter of the year.
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