Profit woes for Samsung after thieves hit Brazil plant
Korean giant Samsung yesterday announced a 25 per cent decline in profits for the second quarter just days after robbers hit one of its plants in Brazil, seizing millions of pounds worth of products.
It was the third straight quarter of annual profit decline and Samsung said it expected operating profits to be 7.2 trillion won (£4.2bn), below most estimates and down from 9.5 trillion won for the same period last year.
Samsung blamed the drop in operating profits on the strength of the Korean currency, as well as a slow down in sales of its tablets and smartphones.
The company, which had strong sales of its Galaxy smartphones in recent years, has lately been hit by strong competition in markets such as China, where rivals Huawei, Lenovo, and Xiaomi have increasingly taken market share by offering cheaper smartphones than Samsung’s.
However, some analysts believe that Samsung could still weather the storm. Jonathan Jackson of Killik said: “Overall, Samsung should continue to benefit from the smartphone market given its strong position in components such as displays, processors and memory chips.”
Meanwhile, robbers hit a Samsung plant in Sao Paolo, Brazil on Sunday, taking over 40,000 Samsung products, including smartphones, tablets and notebooks, estimated to be worth $6.3m (£3.6m).