Samsung Electronics Co posted a better-than-expected first-quarter profit after the early release of Galaxy S7 smartphones gave it a head-start on Apple Inc and Chinese rivals, helping to counter an industry downturn.
The combined operating profit estimate for 192 listed companies was raised by 2.26 percent to 30.67 trillion won (US$26.4 billion) for the first quarter as of Wednesday from a month earlier, according to the data by financial information provider FnGuide.
The estimated operating profit is around 1 trillion won more than the market consensus of 5.6 trillion won, which has been forecast by nearly all of South Korean securities firms. Shipments are brisk enough, in fact, that analysts of the Korean smartphone maker have seen fit to raise first-month sales estimates from 7 million units to 9 million - triple those of the S6 and S6 edge over the same period.
"We expect Samsung's Galaxy S7 to be the world's best-selling Android smartphone in 2016,"said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics".
They dropped the ball on gauging demand for their 4 flagships last year, but this year they've taken Apple's approach of launching devices in 2 different size brackets to offer up more choice earlier in the year. And for the first time in seven years, the company has earned a top spot in mobile business.
The earnings surprise stemmed largely from a strong dollar and robust sales of the flagship Galaxy S7 smartphones.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge were launched mid-Q1 to general acclaim; reviewers - ourselves included - praised the company for taking what was successful about the previous version and addressing the few lingering complaint points.
The company was able to cut costs in phone components and reduce the number of cheap phone models, analysts said.
According to a survey by analyst firm Counterpoint Research, the Galaxy S7 and its Edge variant have sold more than 10 million units over the past month since their global launch on March 11.
Meanwhile, there are reports suggesting that the Samsung Galaxy Note 6 may come with the highly anticipated Android N operating system. The vast success of Samsung's flagship devices led fans to look forward to the next big offering from the company, the Samsung Galaxy Note 6. Sales for Samsung Electronics also remained lackluster.
Samsung is expected to release its full results at the end of this month.
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Source: Samsung Electronics profit beats expectations as hopes rise for smartphone recovery
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