Samsung Electronics set records in its operating and net profits as it unveiled its first-quarter results for the year.
But the good news sent the company’s stock down 3 percent over jitters about a possible slow second quarter.
The mobile phone and semiconductor giant said it savored a net profit of $2.72 billion, representing a 68.7-percent jump from the fourth quarter of 2003 when it had a net profit of $1.6 billion. Its operating profit also leaped 52.6 percent to $3.4 billion from $2.2 billion in the fourth quarter.
Comparatively, the company’s sales improved sequentially by 11.9 percent to $12.3 billion from $11 billion in the fourth quarter.
The company, whose meteoric rise in the handset market has put heat on the competition, enjoyed a 28-percent rise in sales to $3.97 billion from $3.1 billion. Samsung is third in the worldwide handset market share rankings.
In the semiconductor space, it had a 5.6-percent rise in sales to $3.5 billion from $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter. Its memory business, which has been one of the company’s strengths, had a 4.8-percent increase in sales to $2.72 billion as against $2.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
