News
Korean electronics giant forecasts fourth quarter revenue growth of 0.6%.
Samsung issued fourth quarter earnings guidance on Friday that fell short of expectations.
In a brief statement, the Korean electronics giant said it expects operating profit for the three months to 31 December of 6.1 trillion won (€4.6 billion), up from KRW5.3 trillion a year earlier, but less than the KRW6.6 trillion predicted by analysts polled by Reuters.
Samsung expects fourth quarter revenue to come in at KRW53 trillion (€40 billion), up 0.6% on Q4 2014.
The disclosure comes the same week that Samsung’s co-CEO warned that his company faces a tough 2016.
In a speech reported on by Bloomberg, Kwon Oh Hyun said the competitive landscape is shifting to software and platforms. As a result, Samsung needs to build up its competence in these areas and "compete in a new way that we’ve never experienced in the past."
Despite the challenges it faces, Samsung still commands an enviable lead in the smartphone market.
According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung shipped 83.8 million smartphones in the quarter ended 30 September, giving it a market share of 23.7%.
Second-placed Apple, which has a 13.6% share of the market, shipped 48 million smartphones during the same period.
