Samsung’s Q4 2013 earnings reveal a dip in operating profit

Samsung released it Q4 2013 earnings report. As initially expected, the Korean giant’s operating profit has taken a dip despite the presence of record revenues.

The company reported operating profit of 8.3 trillion won (about $7.7 billion) from 59.28 billion won of revenue. The number represents a decrease of 18% over the previous quarter, and 6% compared to the same period last year.

Samsung’s mobile division saw its revenues go down 9% compared to Q3 to 32.17 trillion won (about $31.52 billion). Its operating profits are down 18% quarter over quarter to 5.47 trillion won ($5.09 billion), despite the surge in demand for smartphones and tablets during the holiday season.

The company pointed at high expenses as the reason for the reduced profits. They included big spending on marketing and a considerable one-time expenditure. Shipments of smartphones were slightly down, while tablet sales surged thanks to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) and the Galaxy Tab 3 family.

Going into 2014, Samsung expects its mobile division to face intense price and product competition. The demand for smartphones and tablets is expected to decrease in Q1 2014 due to weak seasonality.

Samsung’s Semiconductor and Consumer Electronics divisions on the other hand both experienced a surge in revenue and profit.

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