Samsung Profit, Smartphone Shipments Down Sharply in Q3

Samsung profit was down sharply in Q3, largely as a result of declines in its mobile division, the company said Thursday. Samsung said net profit was down 49 percent from the year-earlier quarter to 4.14 trillion won ($4 billion). The biggest culprit was a 74 percent decline in Samsung’s mobile division, to 1.75 trillion won, where profit was the lowest since Q2 2011. In a call with analysts, Robert Yi, senior vice president-investor relations, said new wraparound screens, which debuted last month with Samsung’s Galaxy Note Edge, should help the company regain market share. Yi said the product opened to “rave” reviews on its design. The company also released the Note 4 in early October, he said. “It also received high marks for its high-resolution display and powerful multitasking capability.” Samsung shipped 102 million mobile phones in the quarter, Yi said. The company had 24.7 percent of global shipments last quarter, down from 35 percent a year ago, according to data released Thursday by Strategy Analytics. Apple is in second place with 12.3 percent of the market.