Samsung Electronics announced the beginning of a performance rebound by recovering 'trillion-won' operating profit in the third quarter (July to September) of this year. LG Electronics, which had surpassed Samsung Electronics' operating profit consecutively in the first and second quarters of this year, failed to surpass it for the third consecutive quarter but achieved the second-highest operating profit ever recorded for the third quarter.
On the 11th, Samsung Electronics announced its preliminary consolidated results for the third quarter of 2023, with sales of 67 trillion won and operating profit of 2.4 trillion won. Compared to the second quarter of this year, sales and operating profit increased by 11.65% and 258.21%, respectively. Compared to the third quarter of last year, sales decreased by 12.74% and operating profit by 77.88%.
Samsung Electronics had to be satisfied with an operating profit in the 600 billion won range due to the semiconductor market downturn in the first and second quarters of this year but recovered 'trillion-won' operating profit again in the third quarter. The preliminary results announced on this day also exceeded market expectations, which had anticipated operating profit around 2.19 trillion won. Previously, the consensus for Samsung Electronics' third-quarter operating profit provided by the financial information provider FnGuide (average of securities firms' forecasts) was sales of 68.0287 trillion won and operating profit of 2.1927 trillion won.
The Mobile Experience (MX) division, driven by strong sales of new smartphones such as the Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5, and the Display (SDC) division, benefiting from new product launches by client companies, led the performance improvement. The Semiconductor (DS) division, which recorded operating losses exceeding 4 trillion won in the first and second quarters, also reduced its deficit, contributing to the performance improvement. The preliminary results announced on this day were estimated based on the Korean International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Detailed performance by business division will be announced at the end of this month.
LG Electronics, which announced its preliminary results a day earlier than Samsung Electronics, also reported a 'surprise performance.' Its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter was 996.7 billion won, a 33.5% increase compared to the same period last year. It rose 34.3% from the previous quarter's 741.9 billion won. The third-quarter operating profit is the second highest after 1.0738 trillion won in 2020.
Sales amounted to 20.7139 trillion won. It decreased by only 2.2% compared to last year's record high for the third quarter of 21.1768 trillion won. Thanks to the strong performance of its core home appliance business and the new automotive electronics (electric and electronic devices for vehicles) business, LG Electronics achieved the second-highest sales and operating profit for the third quarter ever. In particular, the automotive electronics sector is expected to emerge as a core business of the company by achieving annual sales of 10 trillion won this year.
LG Electronics described this as "an achievement of overcoming the recession and accelerating qualitative growth of the business portfolio." It explained that expanding the proportion of business-to-business (B2B) sectors such as automotive parts and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), based on customer understanding accumulated in the consumer home appliance business, was the reason for strong performance despite the recession.
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