Samsung Electronics 1st Korean firm to top W100 tril. in quarterly operating profit

Samsung Electronics has become the first Korean company to report operating profits exceeding 100 trillion won ($80.28 billion) in a single quarter, according to a recent estimate. In a regulatory filing, the tech giant projected its third-quarter operating profit to be 107.4 trillion won and revenue to reach 195 trillion won. This would represent a staggering year-on-year increase of 782.5 percent in operating profit and 126.6 percent in sales compared to the previous quarter.

The projected operating profit surpassed the consensus estimate of 106.64 trillion won set by financial analysts. However, sales slightly fell short of the forecasted 200.64 trillion won. Despite concerns that the sharp appreciation of the Korean won against the US dollar could negatively impact profitability, Samsung Electronics' earnings still managed to outperform expectations.

While the company does not provide earnings estimates by business division in its preliminary guidance, memory chips are believed to be the primary driver behind the impressive figures.