Samsung Electronics Profit Rises 12% on Strong Chip Demand

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported a 12% rise in quarterly profit due mainly to demand for high-margin memory chips.

Its operating profit rose to 14.1 trillion won ($10.8 billion) for the quarter ended June 30 from 12.57 trillion won a year earlier, higher than the company’s own estimate of 14 trillion won.

Revenue rose 21% to 77.2 trillion won.

The results were issued after the company offered upbeat earnings guidance on July 7.

A strong dollar, which hit a 20-year high, also aided chip profits, boosting operating profit by about 1.3 trillion won versus the prior quarter.

Samsung’s chip sales are made mainly in dollars, while it reports its profit in Korean won, so a firm greenback translates to higher chip earnings.

Reuters, with additional editing by George Russell

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Tags: Computer Chip

George Russell

George Russell is a freelance writer and editor based in Hong Kong who has lived in Asia since 1996. His work has been published in the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New York Post, Variety, Forbes and the South China Morning Post.