Samsung Electronics today announced its first net profit gain in four quarters today on the back of record sales in its mobile phone division.
Samsung said it earned 2.19 trillion won (€1.69 billion) in the three months ended September 30, a gain of 1 per cent from the same period last year. The gain, which surprised analysts, ended three straight quarters of profit decline.
Sales during the quarter rose 9.6 per cent to a record 16.68 trillion won from 15.22 trillion won a year earlier, the company said.
Mobile phone sales rose to 42.6 million handsets, the company said.
Samsung, once known for manufacturing low-priced televisions for export to the developing countries, has emerged in the past decade as Asia's largest technology company and is the world's largest manufacturer of computer memory chips.
The company is also the world's top producer of flat-screen televisions.