For the struggling smartphone and consumer electronics maker, its earnings guidance report, released April 7, brings better news after several quarters of disappointment and lackluster performance.
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Everyone were expecting Samsung to introduce the Waterproof and Dustproof rating in the Note 5 itself, but the features were not included in it and with what we are hearing the feature will be introduced into Galaxy Note 6.
Thursday’s forecast, which comes ahead of audited results to be released this month, did not provide a net income figure or breakdown of divisional earnings for the company’s mobile, TV, semiconductor and display units.
The appreciation of the South Korean won against the greenback is also considered one of the possible hurdles for Samsung in the second quarter. Analysts, for the most part, seem confident the S7’s upward sales trend will continue.
Greg Roh, analyst at HMC Investment, told the news agency Reuters that Samsung’s earnings had “peaked this year” as marketing costs were set to rise in the coming quarters, pushing down profits. While Samsung didn’t provide specific details about what drove the results, it’s likely that the firm benefited from the recent launch of its flagship Galaxy S7 smartphone as well as potentially lower operating expenses for the mobile division. In a January 28 announcement, Samsung reported an operating profit of $5.05 billion (6.14 trillion Korean won) for the fourth quarter of 2015, down from the $6.4 billion the company posted in the third quarter. That represents a 10 percent gain from KRW 6 trillion a year earlier. The S7’s introduction did little to boost earnings at that unit because it came with few significant chip upgrades.
Samsung may be on the verge of executing a sudden turnaround in its financial fortunes after predicting a rise in its quarterly operating profits.
Speculations are rife that the Samsung Galaxy Note 6 might release prior to the IFA Berlin event in August, although nothing can be confirmed at the moment.
However, competition from new products such as Apple’s recently launched iPhone SE and Huawei’s upcoming flagship P9 phone are tempering enthusiasm about Samsung.
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That’s the case with Samsung – the company mostly sells its midrange handsets instead of its flagship devices.
