삼성전자 1분기 영업이익 6조4천억원…작년 동기 대비 2.7%↑<br /><br />Beating expectations against the odds.<br />South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics performed well better than analysts were forecasting in the first three months of 2020.<br />The relatively healthy returns coming despite the coronavirus pandemic that's wreaking havoc on the global economy.<br />Eum Ji-young has more.<br />Samsung Electronics has reported better-than-expected first quarter profits amid the COVID-19 outbreak.<br />Samsung Electronics said in its earnings guidance on Tuesday that its operating profit for the first three months of this year likely went up 2-point-7 percent from a year ago,... slightly beating expectations.<br />As one of the first major tech names to report earnings amid the coronavirus pandemic,... the company said it expects 5-point-2 billion U.S. dollars in operating profit for the first quarter of this year,... up from the 5-billion it posted for the same period last year.<br />The company expects its consolidated sales to be 45-billion dollars, up almost 5 percent on-year.<br />But both sales and profits are down when compared to the previous quarter.<br />Operating profit is expected to be down 10-point-6 percent compared to the previous quarter, and consolidated sales is expected to see an 8-point-1 percent on-quarter drop.<br />This comes amid a slump in sales of smartphones and home appliances.<br />Analysts say the company's semiconductor business might have helped the firm stay in the black during the pandemic,... as data centers fueled a recovery in memory chip markets,... one of Samsung's main profit centers.<br />South Korean businesses in general are not faring so well. The combined operating profit of companies listed on the benchmark KOSPI is projected to have slumped nearly 17-percent on-year in the first quarter.<br />Financial data provider FnGuide says the combined operating profit of 141 firms is set to be around 13-point-7 billon U.S. dollars,... down from 16-and-a-half billion for the same period last year.<br />Eum Ji-young, Arirang News.<br />
