Samsung outS Q4, FY 2019 results; to focus on flagship, foldables

Samsung is still the no. 1 mobile OEM and we believe it will remain on top especially that Huawei has lost all of its chance to enter the US market. The trade ban in the United States has changed a lot of things for Huawei but we know there is not giving up for the tech company. Its numbers are still good because of the 5G business. Samsung still shouldn’t be complacent though because Huawei also has many other businesses related to mobile aside from smartphones.

Samsung has recently announced its Q4 20191 and F7 2019 results. Last quarter, the operating profit was about KRW 7.16 trillion. Sales hit KRW 59.88 trillion. There are still global uncertainties but the company is positive that overall improvements will be met this year.

For the whole of 2019, Samsung’s total revenue was KRW 230.40 trillion. The operating profit was KRW 27.77 trillion. Q4 profit went down a bit compared to the previous year because of weakness in display panels and the fall in memory chip prices.

Interestingly, demand for memory increased especially for those used in mobile products and servers. Samsung’s flagship phone sales still did well. It’s what actually helped Samsung’s declining numbers to not go fully down.

Both the Memory Business and Display Panel Business saw a decline. The latter saw a weak demand. The Consumer Electronics Business increased year-on-year, thanks to new appliances and QLED TVs.

For this year, the Mobile Business can be more profitable with the upcoming premium models. More 5G phones are also expected to help the numbers. Of course, the entrance of the foldable phones will definitely help the business. No matter how expensive foldable phones are, there are people who will still buy.

The foldable phone category may have slow progress but this year, the Galaxy Fold and the Galaxy Z Flip are expected to make waves. Foldable display technology can improve further so more people may be attracted to the idea of a foldable device. Someday, the foldable screen will not only be available on phones but also on other devices.

Samsung is going to focus on the new flagship and foldable phones. The overall demand for smartphones and tablets increased quarter-on-quarter but QoQ revenue of the Mobile Business went down. This quarter, demand may be low because it’s low season. It usually picks up in the second quarter.

Demand for 5G devices is also believed to increase significantly as more 5G phones will be available. New foldable products may be introduced and eventually help the numbers.