Samsung forecasts 85% drop in profit for last year amid chip slump

A worker waters a flower bed next to the logo of Samsung Electronics at the company's headquarters in Suwon, Gyeonggi. [REUTERS]

Samsung Electronics forecast an 84.9 percent yearly decline in operating profit for last year as a severe cyclical downturn in the semiconductor industry eroded its profitability.
 
The Suwon, Gyeonggi-based tech giant announced in a preliminary earnings report Tuesday that it is expected to post an operating profit of 6.5 trillion won ($5 billion), the lowest since 2008 and below the market consensus of 7.5 trillion won.
 
Its annual sales is projected to come at 258.2 trillion won, down 14.6 percent over a year ago. The sales forecast falls short of the market estimates at 262 trillion won.
 
For the fourth quarter alone, the operating profit of Samsung Electronics dropped by 35 percent to 2.8 trillion won while sales went down 4.9 percent to 67 trillion won.
 
 

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]