Samsung Group's corporate flag flies in front of its headquarters building in Seoul / Yonhap

Samsung Electronics reported its best first-quarter earnings in four years Thursday on the back of solid semiconductor and mobile demand.

The world's largest memory chip and mobile phone maker said its operating profit rose more than 50 percent to 14.1 trillion won ($11.1 billion) year-on-year in a regulatory filing.

Its January to March operating income beat the market consensus of 13.2 trillion won from a survey of analysts by Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency.

Sales increased 18.9 percent to 77.7 trillion won in the first quarter, an all-time quarterly record and the third consecutive quarter that the tech giant has logged more than 70 trillion won in quarterly sales.

Prices of memory chips, which support a great portion of Samsung's top and bottom lines, held up better than expected.

Robust demand for server memory chips, smartphones and high-end home appliances helped boost the tech giant's profits. (Yonhap)