Print 40 comment(s) - last by zlyles.. on Jul 25 at 11:12 AM

Android leader continues bullish tramp

Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd. (KSC:005930) last year established itself as the new leader in both global smartphone sales and global feature phone sales.  The South Korean firm is also second only to California OEM Apple, Inc. (AAPL) in profitability.

Smartphones are not the only market dominated by Samsung.  The company also is on top of the heap in the DRAM and display markets.  Samsung's revenue came in just a bit lower than its 50T won forecast, at 47T won ($41.4B USD) in an earnings preview forecast aired late this week.

Earnings were driven, in part, by a highly successful international launch of the Galaxy S III smartphone.  Nho Geun-chang, analyst at HMC Investment Securities in Seoul, predicts sales of 19 million Galaxy S III smartphones for the June-ending quarter, in a statement to Reuters.  

He states, "Revenue is below our forecast, which suggests price pressure was more severe than had been expected in products such as televisions and home appliances.  Earnings will be stronger in the current quarter as sales of the high-end Galaxy S III will increase dramatically and drive the telecom division's earnings to above 5 trillion won."

The success is a welcome development given that the company is going through a leadership transition, with Kwon Oh-hyun taking the reins as chief executive officer this quarter.

Samsung is in rare air in the smartphone market.  Its Android counterparts HTC Corp. (TPE:2498) and Google Inc. (GOOGsubsidiary Motorola Mobility have stumbled, slipping to smaller market shares.

Both HTC and Samsung did share one common thread in their recent earnings reports, however.  Both companies were impacted by a weak Euro.

Samsung, however, is looking at aggressively moving to counteract these adverse affects.  An unnamed executive told Reuters, "Europe is our biggest consumer electronics market and we may have to initiate cost cuts and product price increases should the euro fall further from the current level.”

Our smartphones are flying off the shelves, with some outlets reporting 40-60 percent sales growth, but that's distorting the overall trading outlook which is more challenging due to the weak global economy and a weak euro."

In the U.S. Samsung did suffer some setbacks in the second calendar quarter with courts deciding to ban the Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet and Galaxy Nexus smartphone, finding probable cause that they infringed on the patents of rival Apple, Inc. (AAPL).  The tablet was less of a blow, as it had struggled in sales, but the ban on the Galaxy Nexus, one of Samsung's prize models, was a major setback.

Samsung is currently appealing the Galaxy Nexus ban.

Source: Reuters

Comments     Threshold


RE: Can't Wait
By retrospooty on 7/7/2012 2:04:02 PM , Rating: 2
"I am looking forward to seeing which one is more advanced and innovative"

Why? You say that as if its a choice that isn't already made... It's pretty clear by the IOS 6 beta that the SGS3 is more advanced and innovative, and you will of course see it as the iPhone 5 is more advanced and innovative. That is just comparing IOS6 to Android 4

They have already announced that the SGS3 will get a jelly bean update very soon. So in the end, you will have a far better OS with flick to close and delete gestures compared to the 5 year old IOS icon interface and you will still think IOS is better.

RE: Can't Wait
By testerguy on 7/9/2012 7:07:50 AM , Rating: 2
Honestly, I'm relatively confident that I'll be able to do what I want on either operating system.

I think they both make using a phone effortless and I don't think I'd find anything I want to do but can't on either. I've owned both iPhones and Androids and they both allow you do to do whatever you want. iOS makes it simpler, but also requires that you download apps to do some things you may expect to be native, so I'm pretty indifferent.

In terms of Apps, the previously most compelling reason to get an iPhone, I believe Android has caught up or is catching up too.

I don't think SGS3 is particularly advanced, it doesn't innovate at all as far as I can see.. they added some gimmicky features like closing when you close your eyes - honestly that doesn't interest me. It doesn't put me off either. I can't see much on their phone which doesn't exist elsewhere.

Due to my indifference to the operating systems, it'll probably come down to battery life, performance and specifications when I make my decision, including things like size, weight, network speeds. I can't make that decision until the new iPhone gets released.

For me to buy a Samsung I would also need to get some confidence that the phone would get Android updates for the life of my mobile contract.

RE: Can't Wait
By retrospooty on 7/9/2012 8:30:50 AM , Rating: 2

True... That's a fair assessment that covers 99% of the purchasing public. It's a very different tone than I have ever heard from you, but fairness is a good thing, so +1 to that.

"I don't think SGS3 is particularly advanced, it doesn't innovate at all as far as I can see"

It's not really. It's using the latest and greatest stuff and has great specs and a killer screen. Samsung has stepped its way to the top. Not by releasing a single major jump, but baby steps all the way. This is just the latest step.

