New Delhi, May 28 (IANS): Samsungs smartphone sales grew 9 per cent (on-year) in April, capturing 24 per cent of the global smartphone market — highest monthly market share for Samsung since April 2017.

The company's sales grew despite the global smartphone sales declining 8 per cent YoY during the same period.

In fact, it was one of the only few brands to grow against the market decline, according to Counterpoint Research.

"This was driven by the strong performance of the S22 series in the premium segment and the A series in the mid-segment. Samsung also had low exposure to the declining China market, which negatively affected sales of all Chinese OEMs," said Research Director Tarun Pathak.

Promotions in some of Samsung's core markets like Latin America and growth in India, where it became the No.1 brand in April, also helped in expanding its market share during the month.

"Samsung's supply chain management through 2022 has also been robust, successfully catering to the demand," Pathak added.

The growth helped Samsung to lead the global smartphone market sales for the third consecutive month in 2022.

It also became the No 1 brand in the Indian market in April for the first time since August 2020.

The global smartphone market declined further in April 2022, reaching the lowest level since the pandemic in 2020.

"China declined the most, as consumer sentiment weakened due to lockdowns. Sales in Russia also declined in April as key OEMs exited the market and inventory depleted," said senior analyst Varun Mishra.

LATAM, US and India were the only markets to show growth, but that was not enough to offset the decline in other regions, he added.

Going forward, Samsung is likely to retain the leadership position in the global smartphone market in Q2 2022.

The foldables segment, where Samsung is currently the undisputed leader, also has a lot of potential. Samsung will aim to bring down the prices for foldable phones to gain a competitive advantage, the report noted.