Samsung May Post Its Best Quarter In Two Years Thanks To Blockbuster Galaxy S7 Sales
Samsung's efforts to revitalize its mobile business after it'd grown stagnant under the old regime appears to be paying off. The South Korean electronics maker posted its earning guidance for the second quarter of 2016, noting that it expects to pull a profit of 8.1 trillion won (just over $7 billion in U.S. currency) on consolidated sales of 50 trillion won (~$43.3 billion).
It's been two years since Samsung has seen a quarterly profit like that. It represents about a 17 percent jump from the 6.9 trillion won it posted a year ago, with revenue rising 3 percent 48.5 trillion won. These are estimates, of course, but the final numbers that Samsung reports later this month aren't likely to be drastically different than its guidance.
Samsung is seeing solid demand for its Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge devices, its latest flagship smartphones that compete with the likes of Apple's iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus and a spattering of other premium devices. One thing that Samsung's quarterly sales figures is that it bumped the launch of its Galaxy S7 series in early March rather than waiting until late April like it usually does.
The tricky part will be maintaining demand for the Galaxy S7 line into the second half of the year. Sales always come fast and furious immediately following the launch of a new flagship, but aren't always easy to sustain through in between product refreshes. One thing working in Samsung's favor is that it brought back the microSD card slot and made the Galaxy S7 water resistant, both of which are popular upgrades over the previous Galaxy S6 series.
Samsung found out under its former mobile boss J.K. Shin that consumers tend to grow bored with recycled designs, as was the case with the Galaxy S5. Profits took a plunge at the end of 2014, causing Samsung to shake things up by firing several high-level executives. A year later, Samsung handed the mobile reins D.J. Koh, one of Shin's top men who previously led Samsung's mobile research and development efforts. Koh learned from Shin's mistakes, such as misjudging demand for the company's curved edge handsets, and now things are finally looking up again.
It's been two years since Samsung has seen a quarterly profit like that. It represents about a 17 percent jump from the 6.9 trillion won it posted a year ago, with revenue rising 3 percent 48.5 trillion won. These are estimates, of course, but the final numbers that Samsung reports later this month aren't likely to be drastically different than its guidance.
Samsung is seeing solid demand for its Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge devices, its latest flagship smartphones that compete with the likes of Apple's iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus and a spattering of other premium devices. One thing that Samsung's quarterly sales figures is that it bumped the launch of its Galaxy S7 series in early March rather than waiting until late April like it usually does.
The tricky part will be maintaining demand for the Galaxy S7 line into the second half of the year. Sales always come fast and furious immediately following the launch of a new flagship, but aren't always easy to sustain through in between product refreshes. One thing working in Samsung's favor is that it brought back the microSD card slot and made the Galaxy S7 water resistant, both of which are popular upgrades over the previous Galaxy S6 series.
Samsung found out under its former mobile boss J.K. Shin that consumers tend to grow bored with recycled designs, as was the case with the Galaxy S5. Profits took a plunge at the end of 2014, causing Samsung to shake things up by firing several high-level executives. A year later, Samsung handed the mobile reins D.J. Koh, one of Shin's top men who previously led Samsung's mobile research and development efforts. Koh learned from Shin's mistakes, such as misjudging demand for the company's curved edge handsets, and now things are finally looking up again.
