Solid mobile business, weaker won drive tech giant's record Q1 sales

By Park Jae-hyuk

Samsung Electronics announced Thursday that its first-quarter sales are estimated to have hit a record high with a better-than-expected operating profit, despite multiple difficulties from unfavorable factors here and overseas.

In its earnings guidance, the tech firm estimated that its sales, based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), rose 17.76 percent year-on-year to 77 trillion won ($63 billion) during the first quarter of this year, while operating profit surged 50.32 percent from a year earlier to 14.1 trillion won.

Samsung Electronics said it will announce details of the performance of each business division during a conference call on April 28.

The tech giant's first-quarter performance beat market consensus among domestic securities analysts who forecast 75.2 trillion won in sales and 13 trillion won in operating profit, according to financial information provider FnGuide.

Their estimates were partially attributed to the electronics industry's tendency to post lower earnings during the first quarter than in other quarters.