Earlier today, Samsung published their financial result for the recently concluded Q4 2014 quarter. Samsung recorded a revenue of 52.73 trillion won, an 11 percent increase quarter-on-quarter (QOQ). The operating profit for the quarter stood at 5.29 trillion won, compared to 4.06 trillion won from Q3 2014.
Samsung says the financials improved this quarter due to the growth of the Device Solutions (DS), thanks to the increase in demand for 20nm mobile processors and memory products.
Samsung expects the current quarter (Q1 2015) to be slow for components as well as for the Consumer Electronics (CE) division whereas focus on the lineup IM Division, it will focus on the successful implementation of its new product line-up strategy.
As far as capital expenditure (CAPEX) goes, the company invested 23.4 trillion won for the whole year.
Semiconductors:
The semiconductors division posted a consolidated revenue of 10.66 trillion won and an operating profit of 2.7 trillion won.
Samsung says the Memory Business had a strong boost thanks to the strong demand DRAM products, helped by the stable demand for PCs.
This year, the company expects the DRAM growth to continue the momentum of Q4 and will even work towards expanding 20nm class migration. The System LSI Business on the other hand will ramp up the 14-nanometer process but expects slower demand due to seasonality.
Display Panel:
The Display Panel division recorded a 7.05 trillion won consolidated revenue and 470 billion won in operating profit for the quarter.
The profitability improved for LCD panels compared to the last quarter and the shipment of the premium TVs also helped the cause.
Going forward in 2015, Samsung expects LCD panels will enjoy stable market demand and supply but expects a slowdown in the panels of tablets and PCs due to low sales.
IT & Mobile Communications:
The IM Division used to be the star division driving record profits for Samsung Electronics and though it isn’t bad as it was few quarters back, the IM department is making a steady recovery. Although smartphone shipments took a slight dip, it was compensated with the increase of ASP enabling them to post a 1.96 trillion won in operating profit over a consolidated revenue of 26.29 trillion won.
In 2015, Samsung will focus on developing markets like China and India and introduce devices with new design and differentiated features. Samsung will also focus on premium and mass market tablets.
UHD and Curved TV Markets Provide Opportunities
Consumer Electronics:
The CE Division, encompasses the Visual Display (VD), Digital Appliances (DA), Printing Solutions and Health and Medical Equipment (HME) Businesses and cumulatively, the division posted a total of 14.27 trillion in consolidated revenue and 180 billion in operating profit.
Increased demand due to holiday season saw the flat panel TVs grow QOQ by more than 20 percent while overall TV sales increased by 40 percent. The Digital Appliance (DA) Business also saw a slight increase from the same period last year.
For Q1 2015, the CE Division expects the growth to slow down compared to the previous quarter but is bullish on the growth of large screen TVs, including UHD and Curved TVs.
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