The South Korean tech giant said net profits rose 46.3 percent in January-March from a year earlier to $6.4 billion
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that net profits rose nearly 50 percent in the first quarter, largely driven by robust sales of its smartphones and home appliances due to continued stay-at-home demand.
The firm is the flagship subsidiary of the giant Samsung group, by far the largest of the family-controlled empires known as chaebols that dominate business in South Korea, the world’s 12th-largest economy.
The conglomerate is crucial to South Korea’s economy, with its overall turnover equivalent to a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Samsung Electronics said net profits rose 46.3 percent in January-March from a year earlier to 7.1 trillion won ($6.4 billion).
Solid sales of smartphones and consumer electronics outweighed lower earnings from semiconductors and displays, the firm said in an earnings report.
The figures came a day after Samsung’s controlling Lee family announced plans to pay more than $10 billion in inheritance taxes following the death of chairman Lee Kun-hee last year – one of the world’s biggest-ever such settlements.
The Covid crisis has wreaked havoc with the world economy, with lockdowns and travel bans imposed around the globe for many months.
But the pandemic, which has killed over two million people worldwide, has also seen many tech companies boom, including Samsung.
Coronavirus-driven working from home has been boosting demand for devices powered by Samsung’s chips, as well as home appliances such as TV and washing machines.
Pent-up demand has led the growth in home appliances, said James Kang, a senior researcher at Euromonitor International.
But once the coronavirus situation improves with the distribution of vaccines, the growth of home appliances will be slower than 2020 as people spend more time outdoors, he added.
Operating profit rose 45.4 percent to 9.4 trillion won, while sales rose 18.2 percent to 65.4 trillion won.
Analysts say the company has enjoyed a particular boost from rolling out its Galaxy S21 series in January, more than a month ahead of the flagship product’s usual annual launch schedule.