Tech giant Samsung Electronics has reported its first annual earnings decline since 2012. Its year-on-year net profit fell by 27% to $4.8bn in the October to December period. Its profit of 25tn was its lowest since 2011. It’s thought that the decline in profits can be attributed to competition from Apple and various up-and-coming Chinese rivals.
Annual revenue for its mobile business – its biggest driver of profits – fell by 19% for the whole year and by 23% from the year before. The company says it expects sales for its tablets and smartphones to continue to fall because of seasonal factors, claiming: “The mobile business will focus on increasing sales and improving business performance through new product line-ups, such as the Galaxy A series.”
The news comes just a day after Apple reported by the biggest quarterly profit ever announced by a public company. The company is expected to focus on cheaper smartphones and mobile chips in order to see an upturn in its fortunes. Experts also expect the company to launch a successor to its Galaxy S5 in March in order to boost sales. It’s thought that the new phone will come complete with a Samsung chip rather than a Qualcomm processor.
Do you think Samsung can turn things around? Will you be buying an S6?
