Samsung’s Q4 Profit Expected to Plunge

Samsung’s Q4 Profit Expected to Plunge
Fotolia

Samsung’s final quarter of 2022 was hit by falling demand for consumer products and a drop in memory chip prices. Its operating profit is forecast to plunge 69% year-on-year to an eight-year low.

In a quarterly earnings guidance, Samsung estimates that its Q4 operating profit will fall to KRW4.3 trillion ($3.4 billion) from a record of KRW13.9 trillion in the same period in 2021. It expects revenue in the October to December period to fall 8.6% to KRW70 trillion. The company will release its full Q4 earnings, with a breakdown by division, later in the month.

Macroeconomic instability hurt demand for tech products worldwide, resulting in a glut of chips and putting downward pressure on prices. TrendForce predicted in September prices of DRAM chips would decline 13% to 18% in Q4. Earlier, Samsung vice chairman and co-CEO Han Jong-hee told The Wall Street Journal that rising interest rates and inflation would slow demand for consumer products throughout 2023.