Samsung Electronics predicts its second quarter operating
profit will be more than five times that achieved in the first
quarter of the year.
The South Korean maker of memory chips, LCD screens and mobile
handsets said it expects an operating profit of between $1.74bn and
$2.05bn in the April-June period.
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Samsung reported its first operating loss of $680m in the fourth
quarter and suffered a 72% drop in first-quarter net profit from a
year ago, according to the
Financial Times.
Falling demand for PCs in 2008 hit several large chip
manufacturers, including Intel, AMD, Texas Instruments and
Samsung.
Analysts attributed Samsung's strong performance to
good sales of its multimedia mobile handsets and LCD TVs, and
the stabilisation of memory chip prices.
The good forecast issued today for Samsung's financial results
to be announced on 24 July has
boosted the firm's share price by at least 6% and prompted
analysts to advise investors to buy shares.