Samsung reports 10 times higher profits in the first quarter

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics on Tuesday reported a 10-fold jump in profit in the latest quarter as the expansion of artificial intelligence technologies fuels a rebound in markets for computer memory integrated circuits. .

The South Korean semiconductor and smartphone giant said its operating profit for the January-March quarter was 6.6 trillion won ($4.8 billion), up from 640 billion won ($465 million). dollars) that he earned during the same period last year.

Revenue rose nearly 13% to 71.9 trillion won ($52 billion), thanks to higher memory chip prices and strong sales of its Galaxy S24 smartphones, the company said.

The company earned 1.81 trillion won ($1.38 billion) in operating profit from its semiconductor business, the division’s first quarterly profit since the fourth quarter of 2022, at a time when the semiconductor market chips continues to recover from a cyclical downturn deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic and tensions in global trade.

Samsung forecast that the memory IC market would remain strong in the coming months, driven by the expansion of generative AI technologies, which is increasing demand for conventional chips used in servers and advanced chips designed to process AI, including High Bandwidth Memory (HBM).

In response to increased demand for AI chips, Samsung said it began mass production of its latest HBM ICs, called 8-layer HBM3E, this month and plans to start producing the 12-layer version of the chips later this month. second quarter.

“In the second half of 2024, business conditions are expected to remain positive, and demand – primarily for generative AI – is expected to remain strong, despite continued volatility related to macroeconomic trends and market trends. geopolitical problems,” Samsung said in a statement.

For smartphones, the company will continue to focus on increasing sales of its flagship device, the Galaxy S24, which is built with a number of new features made possible by AI, including live translation during phone calls in 13 languages ​​and 17 dialects.

Samsung said it plans to expand AI features beyond the S24 to other mobile devices, as it expects the technologies to drive growth in the smartphone market in the coming months amid a rise in global consumer spending.