Samsung Electronics has announced quarterly earnings for the July-September 2020 period, making 66.96 trillion won in revenue and 12.35 trillion in operating profit. That’s the highest quarterly revenue figure ever for the Korean electronics giant, which says that it was able to meet a boost in customer demand following COVID-19 disruption.
“Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues around the world, reopening of key economies led to significant increase in consumer demand,” Samsung says in a statement. “Samsung Electronics was able to respond aggressively through flexible global supply chain management, reporting its highest-ever quarterly revenue.”
Samsung says that an increase in demand for smartphones helped drive the revenue figures, while operating profit saw a 59 percent year-on-year increase that the company puts down to stronger sales of both memory chips and consumer products. Part of the jump in memory demand was because of Huawei, which put in urgent orders ahead of US sanctions taking effect last month.
However, Samsung warned of lower profits in the coming quarter due to an expected slump in memory demand and higher competition in the smartphone market. It’s worth noting that while Samsung launched several flagship phones in the previous quarter, including the Galaxy Note 20 line, the Galaxy Z Fold 2, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G, Apple’s annual iPhone launch suffered a rare slip into October.
That means that Samsung was able to launch its new phones without going up against its biggest competitor in several major markets. Elsewhere, though, Huawei’s sanctions-induced smartphone decline will present an opportunity for both companies to compete for the extra market share. The later iPhone launch will also give a boost to Samsung’s OLED display business.
Looking to next year, Samsung says it plans to focus further on foldable phones as a way to differentiate its flagship lineup, while also aiming to make 5G more of a mass-market proposition.
