For months now, we have been hearing reports about the state of affairs within Samsung. As each quarter of 2014 passed, new reports emerged from each quarterly statement by Samsung, suggesting that this was going to be the worst financial year the company had endured since 2011. There were a number of factors which were being attributed to this expected year. The primary two were best summed up in what was thought of as a ‘stagnant Samsung’ (in terms of their products) and the seemingly unstoppable rise of low-cost/high-spec products from OEMs like Xiaomi.
Today, Samsung published their latest figures and they are pretty much in line with what was expected. In terms of the fourth quarter alone, Samsung announced an overall operating profit of 5.3 trillion won (which equates to $4.88 billion). This is pretty much in line with the 5.2 trillion won figure Samsung previously announced they were expecting. That said, this resulted in an overall annual operating profit, totalling 25 trillion won. This means the firm did see a drop in year-on-year profits of nearly a third. This time last year, Samsung reported a yearly operating profit closer to 36 trillion won. As such, and as expected, this resulted in the lowest yearly posted from the South Korean company since 2011.
On a more positive note, Samsung’s chip earnings were reported to be extremely strong for the company, with this division pulling in a 2.7 trillion won operating profit for the fourth quarter. Of course, this was not enough to offset the damage done by the mobile sector, which saw its profits fall for the fifth consecutive quarter to 1.96 trillion won. As such, the chip division was being seen to be emerging as a bright spark industry for the company going forward into 2015. In addition, Samsung also noted that the sale of high-end smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 helped to offset the failing division, in general.
Following on from this, Samsung also hinted at the direction the company will take this year. In particular, Samsung noted three specific directions going forward. The first was a focus on ‘unique products’. As we have already seen with the launch of devices like the Gear VR and the Galaxy Note Edge, Samsung believes products which focus on “new materials and innovative design” will help them deliver in 2015. The second main focus was on what Samsung refers to as a “streamlined portfolio”. Samsung are known for releasing a wealth of devices any given year and it looks like (as expected) this will be a much more slimmed down affair moving forward in 2015. The last main focus for this year, will not be a surprising one. Samsung eyes emerging markets such as China and India as a real opportunity to expand their customer base and sales. You can read the full announcement by clicking the source link below.