Samsung Electronics estimates Q1 operating profit of nearly $8 billion

Описание: Samsung Electronics' record-breaking run appears to be over.
The first quarter results of the world's number one smartphone maker suggest there could be

some storm clouds on the horizon.
Slowing sales and lower operating profits have the investors take notice.
Kim Ji-yeon reports. Just shy of eight billion U.S. dollars.
That's how much operating profit Samsung Electronics banked in the first three months of the

year... and while the figure is high,... the Korean firm may not be pleased.
Released Tuesday in a provisional report from Samsung, the total is up just one-point-one

percent from the previous quarter,... but represents a 4-point-3 percent drop from the same

period last year.
Samsung Electronics also saw its sales tumble nearly 11 percent from the fourth quarter of last

year... to 50-point-2-billion U.S. dollars due to market saturation and new iPhone releases from

Apple.
To counter, Samsung has slashed prices of its Galaxy-range of smartphones.
The fresh news comes on the heels of a sharp cut in earnings in the fourth quarter of last

year, when operating profits dipped 18 percent and sales fell nearly 8 percent from the previous

quarter.
Markets have taken notice.
Shares of Samsung dropped 9-point-9-percent last year, the first annual decline since 2008.
Also looming are the damages Samsung is scheduled to pay out due to its patent disputes

with Apple,.. including one totaling around 290-million U.S. dollars.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.