Amid steep revenue decline, Samsung eyes foldable and 5G phones to consolidate in 2019

“Despite weak Q418, Samsung’s annual revenue increased to $219 billion, and while it expects 2019 to be weaker, new technologies may help recover fortunes.”

Samsung’s last quarter syndrome continues with 2018 also, with the company posting a rather sharp decline in revenue and operating profit for Q4 2018, at its earnings call yesterday. The company reported a rather weak quarter for the last three months of the year, with $53.3 billion quarterly consolidated revenue, and $9.7 billion operating profit. Compared against Q4 2017, these figures are down by 10 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

As for annual figures, Samsung’s operating profit increased from $48.2 billion in 2017 to $52.9 billion in 2018, while revenue increased from $215.3 billion in 2017 to $219.1 billion in 2018. The reason behind such financial fluctuations at Samsung may be attributed to how its overall businesses performed. The company declared at its earnings call that its memory chips, which have been major money spinners for the company, have been down in demand. Also down is its display panel business, which is seeing increasing competition from fellow manufacturers, and in turn hampering the company.

The slow demand for mobile phones, with gradual saturation point hitting the global markets, has also contributed Samsung’s slowdown. All things taken together, Samsung has declared that the market may look even bleaker in 2019, with no significant turnaround expected in memory chips and OLED displays, even though these sectors are expected to improve this year. Samsung’s TV business is also going strong, although that may not be enough to make a massive difference to a slightly lower revenue in 2019.

That said, what may make a difference, according to the company’s forecasts, is the rise of innovative devices in the smartphone space. The company has already confirmed the launch of a foldable display smartphone, which may give a much-needed boost to overall revenue. Furthermore, the advent of 5G connectivity means Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S10+ 5G Edition may be one of the few premium 5G devices that become available early this year, thereby cashing in on a rising trend.

Samsung hopes that these devices may make up for what is a rather weak forecast into its year ahead, and the new smartphone technologies may help it revive some of its key business areas going forward.

from 91mobiles.com http://bit.ly/2SkfC4A
>