{"id":1085631,"date":"2023-01-06T08:12:07","date_gmt":"2023-01-06T13:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/samsung-profits-plunge-69-as-global-chip-demand-in-full-fledged-ice-age\/1085631\/"},"modified":"2023-01-06T08:12:07","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T13:12:07","slug":"samsung-profits-plunge-69-as-global-chip-demand-in-full-fledged-ice-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/samsung-profits-plunge-69-as-global-chip-demand-in-full-fledged-ice-age\/1085631\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Profits Plunge 69% As Global Chip Demand In ‘Full-Fledged Ice Age’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Samsung Profits Plunge 69% As Global Chip Demand In ‘Full-Fledged Ice Age’<\/span><\/p>\n

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The world’s largest memory chipmaker recorded an operating profit decline of 69% for the three months that ended in December — the worst drop in nearly a decade — as the semiconductor supply glut worsens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Preliminary numbers\u00a0released<\/a>\u00a0by Samsung showed the company’s operating profit declined to 4.3 trillion won ($3.4 billion) last quarter, missing the average analyst estimate of 6.7 trillion won ($5.3 billion). Sales fell to 70 trillion won ($55 billion) in the quarter, down 8.6% over the same period a year ago. The company is expected to publish a full financial statement with net income and updates on divisional performance at the end of the month.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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“Amid continued external uncertainties, including a potential global economic downturn, overall earnings decreased sharply quarter on quarter as we saw a significant drop in the memory business results due to lackluster demand and weaker sales of smartphones,” the company said in a statement.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Readers have been well informed about South Korea’s largest company grappling with dismal memory chip demand. We cited the Korea Economic Daily in September that warned about Samsung’s troubles and how the “semiconductor industry has\u00a0entered a full-fledged ice age<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

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“The decline in 4Q demand was greater than expected as customers adjusted inventories in their effort to further tighten finances,” Samsung said in its statement, adding significant price declines in memory chips and slumping smartphone sales were due to “weak demand resulting from prolonged macro issues.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

And those macroeconomic headwinds Samsung might be talking about could be the global economy sliding into recession. Earlier this week, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva\u00a0warned<\/a>\u00a0about global recession risks on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

South Korea’s exports of memory chips are in a down-cycle, indicating a worsening slump in tech demand critical to global economic growth.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Despite the bad news, though mostly known, shares of Samsung Electronics trading on Korean exchanges rose 1.4% Friday — holding above the 100-day moving average.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Here’s what Wall Street analysts had to say about Samsung (list courtesy of Bloomberg):<\/p>\n

CLSA Securities Korea (Sanjeev Rana)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n