Samsung Electronics has registered a most profitable quarter in two years, mainly driven by the strong sales of Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones. Between the two Galaxy phones, the expensive Edge variant marked over half of the Galaxy S7 sales.
Samsung’s revenue stood at $45.2 billion, an increase of 5% when compared to the same quarter in the previous year. The operating profit was $7.22 billion, up 18%. According to the company, it shipped between 75.6 million and 78.3 million smartphones during the quarter. The company reduced the production of mid- and low-level smartphones in the quarter, enabling the company to cut costs.
The sales of Samsung’s OLED displays too surged mainly due to the increasing demand for flexible displays as seen in S7 Edge. The company dominates the global supply of OLED display panels for mobile phones. The company expressed its optimism for the upcoming quarter as it is officially unveiling Galaxy Note 7 smartphone on August 2 in New York. However, the company indicated that the competition may increase as the other smartphone manufacturers will release new models in the second half of 2016.
The South Korean corporate giant also reported an increase in its consumer electronics division, which includes products such as refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioning. The company expects this sale to plunge down in the second half of the year as the demand in the market like Europe has decreased heavily and there will be a “prolonged economic slowdown in emerging markets”.
In the upcoming quarter, Samsung may launch a Galaxy C series exclusively for the Chinese market. On the other hand, Samsung's main market rival Apple has reported a loss of 27% in its quarter net profit, marking second consecutive quarter sales fall. The manufacturer shipped 40.4 million iPhones.
