Samsung Electronics announced this Thursday, 30, a 32.5% increase in operating profit in the third quarter, driven by demand for memory chips for computers, which is expected to continue to grow due to artificial intelligence (AI).
The South Korean technology giant set a new record for quarterly revenue, which rose almost 9% to 86 trillion won (51.9 billion euros) in the July-September period, driven by increased sales of semiconductors and mobile phones.
Samsung, which sells both components and electronic equipment, said it expects AI-driven demand to further expand market opportunities in the coming months.
SK Hynix, another major South Korean chipmaker, on Wednesday announced a record operating profit of 11.4 trillion won (€6.89 billion), which it also described as AI-related.
Samsung’s operating profit of 12.2 trillion won (7.37 billion euros) in the last quarter represented a 160% increase over the previous quarter.
The company stated that, between April and July, earnings from semiconductors were affected by adjustments in the value of inventory and extraordinary costs related to restrictions, imposed by the United States, on the export of technology to China.
Samsung’s semiconductor division posted an operating profit of seven trillion won (4.23 billion euros) in the third quarter, with the company reporting strong sales of high-bandwidth memory chips used to power AI applications.
“The semiconductor market is expected to remain strong, driven by the continued pace of investment in AI,” the company said in a statement.
The technology company stated that an advanced version of the high-bandwidth memory chips, the HBM3E, is “currently in mass production and being sold to all relevant customers”, while samples of the next generation product, the HBM4, are being sent to major customers.
The company based in Suwon (south of Seoul) is the main subsidiary of the South Korean giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family conglomerates that dominate business in Asia’s fourth largest economy.
The tech giant is one of the world’s largest producers of semiconductors, which are now used in a wide range of applications, from household appliances to mobile phones, cars and weapons.