Samsung Profits Forecast To Take Third Quarter Hit

The mean
forecast of the 42 analysts tips Samsung’s third-quarter operating
profit to slip 45% year-on-year.

“What’s
expected now is for the company to hit bottom and gradually recover,
but we have now seen smartphone-related earnings peak,” Reuters
reported Korea Investment Trust Management fund manager Baik Jae-yer
as stating.

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According
to the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly
Mobile Phone Tracker, Samsung again led the Android OS charge in the
2014 second quarter, accounting for 29.3% of shipments, however this
represented a significant decline from its 40% share two years ago.

The IDC
noted a number of competitors, including Coolpad, Huawei, Lenovo, LG,
Xiaomi, and ZTE, have all grown their respective volumes, jockeying
for a position in the rankings behind Samsung.

Meanwhile,
Samsung faces pressure at the premium end of the market, with Apple
looking to expand market share on the back of its recently released
iPhone 6, which in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models will challenge
Samsung’s traditional phablet territory.

“We
used to look at the smartphone market from an Apple vs. Samsung
framework, but it turns out that it was really Apple vs. Android,”
Reuters reported IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo as stating.

“Samsung
used to take all the profits from Android because its rivals were
doing such a poor job. Now there’s very little difference between
Samsung and its Android rivals.”