Right on the heels of Apple’s record-breaking quarterly earnings, smartphone competitor Samsung has announced its own results for the October to December 2014 quarter, reporting a 27% quarterly decline in earnings. It was Samsung’s fifth consecutive quarter of decline.
Samsung’s net profit for the quarter amounted to 5.3 trillion wan ($4.9 billion USD), compared to 7.3 trillion won last year. Overall, Samsung’s 2014 profit was at 25 trillion won, down from 36.8 trillion won in 2013, its first annual earnings decline in three years.
Samsung has seen heavy competition from Apple’s new 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus handsets. Apple’s share of the smartphone market in Asia rose significantly following the launch of its two new devices. Apple performed quite well in Japan, China, and South Korea, countries where Samsung has previously dominated with their big screen smartphones.
Mobile’s share of Samsung’s operating profit fell from almost 70% in 2013 to about 58% last year.
The company expects shipments and average selling prices for handsets to pick up in the first quarter as they’ll be launching new mid-tier models, such as the Galaxy A.
Samsung’s mobile sales may have been down 64% year-over-year, however its semiconductor division performed well, earning 2.7 trillion won, ($4.88 billion), due to high demand for its chips from customers such as Apple. Those numbers helped the division boost earnings from the previous quarter, meeting guidance, and beating analyst’s predictions.
(Via MacRumors)
