Daijiworld Media Network - Seoul
Seoul, Apr 30: Samsung Electronics reported a 21.7 per cent jump in its net profit for the first quarter of 2025, powered by robust sales of its new Galaxy S25 smartphones, even as its key semiconductor division continued to underperform.
In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, the South Korean tech giant said its net income stood at 8.22 trillion won (approx. $5.7 billion) for the January-March period, compared to 6.75 trillion won a year ago. The results beat market expectations, with analysts having predicted a net profit of 5.17 trillion won, according to Yonhap Infomax.
Samsung’s operating profit rose 1.2 per cent on-year to 6.68 trillion won, while revenue surged 10 per cent to a record-high 79.14 trillion won, driven mainly by its mobile division.
The company’s DX division, which oversees mobile, TV, and home appliances, recorded 51.7 trillion won in sales, up 28 per cent from the previous year. The mobile segment alone generated 37 trillion won in sales and 4.3 trillion won in operating profit, aided by the strong performance of the Galaxy S25 lineup launched in January.
However, its semiconductor division continued to struggle, posting a 17 per cent drop in sales to 25.1 trillion won and earning just 1.1 trillion won in operating profit. Weakness in the high bandwidth memory (HBM) sector contributed to the slump, though the company remains optimistic.
Samsung said it expects earnings to improve in the second half of the year if global economic uncertainties such as U.S. trade policies and geopolitical tensions ease. “Assuming that the uncertainties are diminished, the company expects its performance to improve,” it noted.
To tap into the growing demand for AI and premium memory, Samsung plans to expand its lineup with 12-layer HBM3E chips, LPDDR5X products, and sixth-generation HBM4 chips, which are expected to enter mass production in Q2.
In the mobile segment, the company will launch the ultra-slim Galaxy S25 Edge in June, followed by new Galaxy Z foldables in July, aiming to maintain its growth trajectory.
Samsung’s CFO Park Soon-cheol acknowledged the challenges ahead, citing uncertainty in global markets but reaffirmed the company’s preparedness. “We will deal with any situation by leveraging our global production bases and customer management capabilities,” he said during the earnings call.