Samsung Forecasts Declines, Exceeds Profit Guidance Expectations

As the trade war between the U.S. and China impacts the global markets for smartphones and chips, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. predicts a sharp drop in operating profit for the second quarter. One-off gains, however, aided the company in coming out ahead of the expectations of analysts, Reuters reported.

Operating profit for April through June likely dropped 56 percent to $5.6 billion or 6.5 trillion won per a regulatory filing before the release of earnings figures that are detailed later in the month. At the same time, it was noted that revenue likely dropped 4.2 percent from a year prior to arrive at 56 trillion won. A forecast profit that provided greater weight to analysts who are top-ranked had indicated 6 trillion won. One-off gains in the division for displays were also said to be reflected in operating platform per the company, the report noted.

Even so, “tech majors” of South Korea are facing the impact of the curbs of Japan on exports to the country when it comes to smartphone and memory chip materials. Daishin Securities Analyst T Lee Kyoung-min said, according to the report, “There’s not enough to say positive earnings momentum has come. Intensified U.S.-China war, and Japanese export curbs and signs of trade conflicts widening globally are likely to delay recovery.”

In separate recent news from Samsung, reports noted that the tech company is rolling out a marketplace for the company’s voice assistant, Bixby, despite its relatively unknown name when stacked against the likes of Siri, Alexa, and Cortana. The Bixby marketplace will be available in South Korea and the United States and customers can reportedly download several different services to customize Bixby.

Bixby apps are known as capsules by the company and they include Spotify, iHeartRadio, Yelp, NPR and Google Maps. Reviews, staff picks and different categories based on the capsule someone would want are also said to be a part of the marketplace. Users in the appropriate countries can tap into the marketplace by pressing the key for Bixby and then swiping left.