Some brokerages in South Korea on Friday lifted their forecasts for Samsung Electronics Co.'s third-quarter earnings, a day after Samsung posted its biggest quarterly operating profit in more than two years.

Samsung, the world's largest maker of smartphones and semiconductors, reported an operating profit of 8.14 trillion won ($7.23 billion) for the April-June quarter, buoyed by strong sales of its flagship Galaxy S7 smartphone. Samsung expected its smartphone margins to be under pressure in the third quarter as it is set to launch the Galaxy S7 Note and Apple Inc. will roll out its latest iPhone in the autumn. 


However, Samsung said a gain in its component earnings would offset rising marketing costs.

Soh Hyun-cheol, a researcher at Shinhan Investment, raised a forecast for Samsung's third-quarter operating profit to 8.35 trillion won, up 2.6 percent from the previous quarter.

"Although marketing costs are expected to rise, earnings are likely to improve because of improved performances in semiconductors and displays," Soh said.

Kim Dong-won, an analyst at Hyundai Securities, predicted Samsung will post an operating profit of 8.5 trillion won in the coming quarter.

Other brokerages such as Mirae Asset Securities and NH Investment & Securities also raised their forecasts for Samsung's third-quarter operating profit to more than 8.2 trillion won.

Before Samsung announced its second-quarter results on Thursday, market consensus for the third-quarter operating income of Samsung was at 7.5 trillion won, according to data compiled by industry tracker FnGuide. (Yonhap)