Samsung roars past Q3 with shipments of 42.6M cellphones

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. reported $2.39 billion in earnings for the third quarter, an increase of 1% from the same period last year, due largely to growth in its cellphone and chip-making businesses.
The world’s No. 2 handset manufacturer brought in $5.2 billion in sales from cellphones during the quarter, an 8% increase year-over-year.
The quarter also marked the first time Samsung surpassed the 40-million-unit mark in handsets shipped, due to strong sales of mid- and high-end products, including 3G handsets. The South Korean company shipped 42.6 million handsets in the quarter.
During the first three quarters of the year the company shipped more than 115 million handsets, breaking last year’s annual total of 114 million units. Of the units shipped during the quarter, 36% went to Europe, 30% to the Americas and 28% went to Asia, the company reported.
Annual sales of Samsung mobile phones are projected to reach 157 million if fourth quarter results equal the third quarter.
The company said it experienced a substantial increase quarter-over-quarter in Europe and America and an increased domestic 3G market share. It also reported a slight increase in sales due to strong domestic W-CDMA and Japanese CDMA business.
The company said it will respond to the growth in the 3G market by launching more phones supporting W-CDMA and HSDPA standards.
“During the third quarter, all businesses of the company including semiconductor demonstrated solid performance on the foundations of their product and cost competitiveness,” said Woosik Chu, executive VP and head of the company’s investor relations team. “Our results demonstrate strong fundamentals throughout the company, with earnings expected to continue trending upward as the fourth quarter brings greater demand for mobile phones and LCD TVs.”