Samsung announced its financial report for the third quarter of 2023 today. The company reported revenue of 67.40 trillion Korean won (approximately $57.91 billion USD), which is lower than the 76.78 trillion Korean won reported in the same period last year and below market expectations of 67.62 trillion Korean won. This represents a 12.22% year-on-year decrease but a 12.31% increase compared to the previous quarter.
Furthermore, the operating profit was 2.43 trillion Korean won (approximately $2.08 billion USD), lower than the 10.85 trillion won from the same period last year but significantly higher than the 0.67 trillion won reported in the previous quarter. Gross profit stood at 20.79 trillion Korean won (approximately $17.87 billion USD), lower than the 28.71 trillion won from the same period last year but higher than the 18.36 trillion won reported in the previous quarter. Net profit amounted to 5.84 trillion Korean won (approximately $5.01 billion USD), higher than the 1.72 trillion won in the previous quarter but lower than the 9.39 trillion won from the same period last year.
Samsung stated that the third-quarter performance improved compared to the previous quarter, primarily due to strong sales of flagship smartphones and a reduction in losses in the semiconductor business. The semiconductor division’s losses decreased from 4.36 trillion Korean won in the second quarter to 3.75 trillion Korean won (approximately $3.22 billion USD) in this quarter. Overall, the average selling prices (ASPs) of DRAM and NAND saw decent growth compared to the previous quarter.
The demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology remains strong in the market. Samsung plans to expand the sales of advanced technology products such as DDR5, LPDDR5X, UFS 4.0, and high-end HBM-class products. Despite ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties, with year-end promotions and major customers launching new smartphones, consumer demand for devices is expected to increase. Samsung believes the memory chip market is poised for a recovery.