Samsung financial results for 2023 reveal a seven-fold decline in profit

Samsung posted its financial results for the fourth quarter and the calendar 2023, and the results are disappointing, to put it mildly. Total sales fell down on a yearly basis for a second year in a row, and this time, the decline was 14%.

Operating profit for the whole of 2023 was just KRW 6.57 trillion ($5 billion) – nearly seven times less than the KRW 43.38 trillion ($32.58 billion) posted in 2022.

The company said that Q4 revenue and profit increased, compared with the previous three-month period, mostly due to improved performance and higher prices of memory, as well as the continued strength of sales of premium display products.

Samsung said it will focus on improving profitability by increasing sales of high-value-added products. This includes devices with generative AI – the Galaxy S24 series, as well as current foldables that should get the new Galaxy AI features with a software update.

Market demand for smartphones increased slightly QoQ, but the full year results still remained in 7% decline, while profit shrunk 20%.

The first quarter of the year is generally strong for Samsung's MX (Mobile eXperience) division precisely because of the Galaxy S series. The company predicted a general decline in market demand, but the premium segment should increase year-on-year.

Expectations for 2024 are the demand to rebound as a result of a global economic recovery, and this includes smartphones, tablets, and TWS devices.

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