Samsung flags Q1 tenfold operating profit surge amid memory bounce

Analysts say picture improving for HBM chips critical for AI computing

20240404 Samsung flags

Analysts say Samsung is bouncing back from a long slump in the chip sector, thanks to improvements in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips critical to artificial intelligence.  © Reuters

KIM JAEWON, Nikkei staff writer

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics said Friday that its operating profit probably soared by more than 10 times in the first quarter from a year earlier, amid expectations that its semiconductor unit may turn a profit for the first time in more than a year and as smartphone sales improve.

In its earnings guidance, the world's biggest maker of memory chips announced that it expects operating profit to have reached 6.6 trillion won ($4.9 billion) in the January to March period, up 931.3% from the same quarter last year. It pegged revenue, meanwhile, as rising 11.4% to 71 trillion won.

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