The South Korean smartphone manufacturer Samsung posted its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2019. The company said that its operating profit dropped by 34%, its worst since 2015. In Q4 of 2019, Samsung made $6 billion in operating profits while its overall revenue increased by 1% (to $50.6 billion).
“Fourth-quarter profit dropped from a year earlier due to the continued fall in memory chip prices and weakness in display panels,” the South Korean smartphone giant said in a statement. However, it also added that “quarterly earnings improved significantly for the mobile business in annual terms, thanks to solid sales of flagship Galaxy smartphones and lineup changes to improve profitability for mass-market models.”
Samsung’s cut throat competitor Apple Inc. posted a very positive Q4 2019 report beating Wall Street’s forecast. Apple posted that it generated $91.82 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019. The Cupertino company would also have had a rough year had it not invested in the services segment and the wearables segment which continues to grow rapidly.
Also, the fact that the iPhone 11 was released at a cheaper price than the iPhone XR, certainly helped Apple push its figures by a margin. The company also kept the iPhone XR around with an extremely low price tag of $599 which is a really good option for a lot of people who are not looking to invest $999 on a phone.
Samsung says that its hoping 2020 to be a positive year for its smartphone business as it gears to launch its new Galaxy flagships and new breed of foldable phones. The company is also actively working on bringing more 5G enabled phones to the market.
“Furthermore, Samsung will expand its 5G product portfolio and strengthen product competitiveness of mass-market smartphones by quickly adopting innovative technology based on market needs,” Samsung said in a statement.
