April 23, 2024

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Samsung Electronics  said on March 26 that it is expecting weaker-than-expected business results for the first quarter, due to a sharp decline in memory chip and panel prices.

“Due to worse-than-expected business conditions, we expect January-March earnings to remain below the market expectations,” Samsung said in a regulatory filing.

The world’s largest memory chipmaker said semiconductors are expected to fall further by larger-than-expected margins due to weak demand, and prices of LCD panels are also struggling amid a supply glut.

South Korean brokerage houses have sharply downgraded the first-quarter earnings forecasts for Samsung, citing tumbling memory chip prices.

The market consensus of Samsung’s operating profit for the first three months of the year stands at 8.33 trillion won ($7.36 billion), down about 47 percent from a year earlier, according to corporate tracker FnGuide.

Analysts further painted a gloomy picture of their earnings for the remaining quarters, saying the operating profit is unlikely to rise on-year.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)