South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is forecast to barely rack up 200 trillion won ($176 billion) in sales for this year as its fourth-quarter outlook seems precarious on seasonal factors and a continued slowdown in its smartphone segment, analysts said Tuesday.
  

The world's top smartphone maker is expected to post a cumulative 200.9 trillion won in sales for 2015, with the operating income to reach 27.1 trillion won annually, according to a median estimate of 24 local brokerage firms compiled by Seoul-based market tracker FnGuide Inc.
  

The 200 trillion-won milestone is significant for the biggest company in South Korea since the figure speaks for its rapid expansion as a global tech firm over the past years.
  

Its annual sales reached the record 200 trillion-won mark for the first time in 2012, with the operating profit amounting to nearly 30 trillion won.
  

For that year, it bagged over 100 trillion won in annual sales from mobile sector alone, which was larger than the entire sales logged by Hyundai Motor Co., the second-largest firm in the country.
  

Samsung's sales reached a record high of 228.7 trillion won in 2013, with a record operating profit of 36.8 trillion won in the same year.
  

But it began to lose steam from last year, with sales and operating income tumbling to 206.2 trillion won and 25 trillion won, respectively, as its flagship smartphone sales faltered.
  

Analysts here said that it will be a close call for Samsung to book another 200 trillion won for 2015 sales, citing continued sluggish handset sales even after the releases of its new Galaxy models, amid fiercer competition with Chinese rivals for mid-range phones and U.S. Apple Inc. in the premium market.
  

If it adds another 200 trillion won in 2015 sales, that will mark the fourth consecutive year for Samsung to reach such a milestone.
  

Some analysts noted that Samsung still stands a chance, given that demand for TV sets and smartphones tends to spike toward the end of the year, especially in the U.S. during Black Friday and Christmas.
  

Yet there are other potential downside risks such as increased marketing costs and unfavorable foreign exchange rates that could weigh on the fourth-quarter earnings, they added.
  

Touching on such factors at the latest conference call following the third-quarter earnings release, a Samsung official said that the company "may be facing a slowdown from the previous quarter due to the off-peak season for the component sector and less foreign exchange rate benefits."
  

Samsung's net profit soared nearly 30 percent on-year to 5.45 trillion won in the July-September period, buoyed by strong chip sales and a weaker South Korean currency. (Yonhap)