The main buildingof Samsung Electronics in southern Seoul. (Yonhap)
The main buildingof Samsung Electronics in southern Seoul. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics on Thursday said its net profit shot up 21 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier with the chip segment posting a record performance amid the artificial intelligence industry boom.

Net profit came to 12.22 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in the July-September period, up 21 percent from the 10.1 trillion won tallied a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Operating profit for the three-month period surged 32.5 percent on-year to 12.16 trillion won. Revenue increased 8.8 percent to 86.06 trillion won.

The earnings beat market expectations. The average estimate of net profit by analysts stood at 10.13 trillion won, according to a survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency.

The semiconductor division posted a record 7 trillion won in operating profit, sharply rising from just 400 billion won tallied in the second quarter, partly driven by the strong performance of high bandwidth memory products. It also marks a sharp increase from the 3.9 trillion-won operating profit posted in the third quarter of 2024.

"The memory business achieved record-high quarterly revenue by expanding HBM3E sales while proactively addressing strong demand across all applications," the company said in a release.

"HBM3E is currently in mass production and being sold to all related customers, while HBM4 samples are simultaneously being shipped to key clients," it added. "A favorable price environment and notably reduced one-off costs such as inventory value adjustments contributed to higher profits."

Samsung added the foundry business also achieved record-high customer orders during the quarter.

Its DX division, which includes mobile, TV and home appliance businesses, saw its operating profit reach 3.5 trillion won amid the popularity of foldable smartphones, the company said.

Of the DX division, Samsung said the mobile sector posted an operating profit of 3.6 trillion won on "the strong launch of Galaxy Z Fold 7 and improved sales of tablets and wearables."

The visual display arm, however, posted an operating loss of 100 billion won due to what the company called "intensified competition."

Shares of Samsung Electronics traded at 104,300 won as of 9:24 a.m., up 3.78 percent from the previous session. The third-quarter report was released after the opening bell.(Yonhap)