November 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Local brokerages expect Korean battery maker Samsung SDI to post its first quarterly operating surplus this year after seven consecutive quarters of losses.

In the second quarter, the Samsung affiliate was estimated to record a surplus of 7.5 billion won (US$6.4 million) and sales of 1.49 trillion won. This was on improved margins from the firm’s battery and electronic materials segment. 

The successful launch of the Galaxy S8 in April helped bolster battery sales, according to industry watchers. Reduced spending on safety precautions after the Galaxy Note 7 crisis winded down was another positive factor.

“Our global clients seemed to have been impressed by the way Samsung handled the Galaxy Note 7 situation, and this helped boost investor sentiment,” a Samsung SDI official was quoted as saying by the local media.

Just a month after the Galaxy Note 7 was launched in August of 2016, Samsung was forced to pull the product due to faulty batteries that exploded. The recall was the biggest in the history of global consumer electronics. Still more devices exploded, and Samsung quickly decided to halt the production of the Note 7 altogether and offered latest Galaxy S smartphones to customers as compensation.

Booming global demand for displays and semiconductors is also expected to have helped Samsung SDI post a profit, as the firm produces related electronics materials. It’s projected to record quarterly sales above the 500 billion won mark for the first time.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)