The world's biggest smartphone maker Samsung Electronics' earnings and performance in the second quarter are out...and it shows,... the firm is struggling with semiconductor profits hitting the lowest figure.<br />Kim Da-mi has the details.<br />Samsung Electronics' profits from its semiconductor business plunged in the second quarter by more than 70 percent from a year earlier,... mainly due to low memory chip prices.<br />The company said Wednesday that it made just 2-point-8-8 billion U.S. dollars on chips.<br />It's the lowest figure in five years.<br />Sales fell 4 percent to around 47 billion dollars, and Samsung's profits overall were down almost 56 percent from a year earlier.<br />The firm pointed to falling global demand for memory chips, especially from China, and falling prices for DRAM.<br />Samsung's performance in the three-month period was slightly better, however, than it had forecast earlier this month.<br />Still, experts say growing uncertainties caused by Japan's export curbs means Samsung will continue to face pressure.<br />Meanwhile, there was a turnaround in Samsung's display business,... with a 7-percent jump in sales and an almost 6-percent jump in operating profits.<br />Despite a slowdown in the market for small-to-medium-sized displays,... the company said new iPhones to be released will help it in the second half of the year.<br />Sales in Samsung's IT mobile business, including smartphones, rose almost 8 percent on-year with a boost from low- and mid-priced products.<br />That was hampered, though, by tougher competition in that price range and higher marketing costs.<br />Home appliances saw the biggest on-year improvement... with profits and sales up 30 percent and 6 percent respectively... thanks to sales of OLED TVs and airconditioners.<br />KIM Da-mi, Arirang News.<br /><br />
