Korean tech giant’s total shipment of smartphones to rise 16 percent in 2012


Samsung Electronics is likely to see its operating profit hit a record high in the January-March period this year thanks to stronger-than-expected sales of its upscale smartphone Galaxy Note, a brokerage said.

Korea Investment & Securities said in a report that Samsung’s latest smartphone would chalk up sales of 5 million units, up from its earlier estimate of 3 million units, citing its surging popularity among consumers across the world. 

The local securities house also raised the overall sales projection of Samsung’s smartphones from 40 million units to 45 million units and put out an increased projection of its first-quarter operating income of 3.3 trillion won ($2.92 billion). The brokerage’s earlier estimate was 2.54 trillion won.

“Galaxy Note has successfully tapped into the previously latent demand for smartphones with a 5-inch screen and its adoption of a separate stylus pen also helps forge a fresh user experience,” said Kevin Lee at the brokerage.

Galaxy Note is known to have bigger profit margins than other models, generating 200 billion won in operating profit per 1 million units.

The brokerage also raised its estimate of the 2012 total shipment of Samsung smartphones to 223 million units, up 16 percent from its earlier estimate.

The move came as Samsung’s competitors such as HTC face delays in the introduction of new models and a positive outlook for the showdown between Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and Apple’s iPhone 5. Samsung’s next-generation smartphone S3 is set to make a formal debut in the second quarter, securing momentum in the market faster than Apple, whose iPhone 5 is widely expected to roll out in the third quarter this year.

By Yang Sung-jin (insight@heraldcorp.com)