Samsung Electronics reports 81% surge in Q1 net

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of computer memory chips, said Friday that its first-quarter earnings surged 81.3 percent from a year earlier, fueled by strong sales of its Galaxy smartphones.

Net profit amounted to 5.04 trillion won ($4.44 billion) in the January-March period, compared with a net income of 2.78 trillion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales expanded 22.4 percent on-year to 45.27 trillion won in the first quarter, and operating profit soared 98.4 percent to a record 5.85 trillion won.

The company said its profits and sales all benefited from the popularity of its Galaxy S2 smartphone and Galaxy Note tablet computer.
Samsung said sales of its Galaxy Note topped the 5 million mark just five months after their release, becoming best sellers in such countries as France and Spain. <Korea Times>

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