If you wanted to know how much cash Samsung made last quarter, you didn't have to wait until today. Just like in the fourth quarter of last year, the company's early guidance was right on the money: the company made 45.27 trillion won (nearly $40 billion US) in sales, and a record 5.85 trillion won (about $5.1 billion) in operating profit for Q1 2012. After taxes, the company took home around $4.46 billion, up 81 percent since last year, and record-worthy in and of itself.
Samsung reports record $4.46b profit for Q1 2012, thanks to smartphones and tablet panels
Samsung reported Q1 2012 earnings of 45.27 trillion won in sales and 5.85 trillion won in operating profit.
Samsung reported Q1 2012 earnings of 45.27 trillion won in sales and 5.85 trillion won in operating profit.
is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
Samsung credits its IT & Mobile businesses for the strong showing, and specially mentioned its smartphone lineup: a press release says that "brisk sales of flagship Galaxy Note and Galaxy S II devices contributed to the company's profitability." As you'd expect, executives are quite bullish about smartphones to come, too, saying that they expect the upcoming "next Galaxy" device to be "our most successful smartphone ever" on an investor call. Later, a Samsung exec let the name of the phone slip out: it's the Galaxy S III.
The company also says that its Display Panel business is seeing more demand, particularly for tablets, 3D and LED TVs and OLED panels for phones. Other businesses, like Samsung’s TV and appliances division, and the Samsung Semiconductor chip division, were up and down, but all are still producing profit for the company right now. In particular, the company says its high-end 7000 and 8000 series televisions saw a 50 percent increase in sales.
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