Analysts revised down Samsung Electronics Co.'s third-quarter earnings outlook, industry sources said Sunday, as South Korea's top tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is anticipated to continue posting weak handset sales.

Samsung Electronics's third-quarter earnings are estimated at 7.23 trillion won ($6.39 billion), according to the data compiled from 19 local brokerage houses by market tracker FnGuide. It marked a 3.27 percent drop from the same research conducted before the announcement of second-quarter guidance.

While the latest estimate still will mark a significant rise from the third quarter of 2014, when operating profit plunged 60 percent on-year to 4.1 trillion won, market watchers said the recovery speed is hindered by weak handset sales.

Samsung said earlier this month its operating profit estimate reached 6.9 trillion won in the April-June period, down 4.03 percent from the 7.19 trillion won posted a year earlier. Its finalized earnings report will be released by the end of July.

The second-quarter figure was out of line with the median forecast of 7.1 trillion won by 18 local brokerage houses polled by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.

Among the securities firms surveyed, Hyundai Securities Co. suggested the lowest amount of 6.49 trillion won for the third-quarter operating-profit outlook.

"While the shipment of low- to mid-end smartphones will increase, the sales of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge will fall on-quarter, making it inevitable to revise down the forecast," Hyundai Securities said.

Samsung's weak earnings from the once-mainstay smartphone business have been cited as one of the major drags on the tech giant's earnings. Its low-end lineup has been challenged by Chinese rivals, while its premium lines have been dented by U.S. Apple Inc.

Samsung's chip business outpaced the mobile segment in terms of operating profit in the first quarter with 2.93 trillion won to 2.74 trillion won, with analysts expecting the trend to continue in the third quarter as well. (Yonhap)