Samsung Electronics 2018 earnings soar to record high

Our top story this morning...
The world's biggest smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics, has released its final earnings report for 2018.
For the year as a whole, sales soared to an all-time high.
But earnings in the fourth quarter dropped sharply, mainly due to sluggish demand in the memory chip business... and growing competition in the smartphone sector.
For more, we have Kim Ji-yeon on the phone.
Ji-yeon, compared to the preliminary estimates, no huge surprises today, right?

No, in fact I'd reported earlier this month that for Samsung, 2018 could be summed up as bittersweet... and today's earnings report confirms that.
Sales and operating profits both hit a yearly all-time high in 2018 due to a semiconductor boom that lasted until the third quarter.
The company's combined sales for 2018 amounted to 219-point-3 billion U.S. dollars... some 2 billion dollars more than its preliminary estimate released earlier this month.
Operating profits for 2018 amounted to nearly 53 billion dollars,... which is zero-point-6-billion dollars less than its earlier estimate... but is still a record-high.
Its operating profits in the fourth quarter of last year were similar to the preliminary estimate of 9-point-7 billion dollars... which is a 28-point-7 percent drop from the previous year.
Sales during the October-to-December period last year were slightly up from the previous estimate at 53-point-3 billion dollars,... a 10-point-2-percent drop on-year.
Samsung said the disappointing Q4 earnings are mainly due to global chipmakers adjusting their inventories and its main clients cutting their orders.
The company says it expects to recover in the second quarter,... particularly in its chip business, and with an expansion of its premium products including OLED displays.
But some analysts like the one I talked to earlier this month predicted the worst may be yet to come for Samsung... and that a dramatic uptick in the company's earnings is unlikely since semiconductor prices are expected to drop further this year... in response to growing signs of a slowdown in the global economy... and rising uncertainties in trade.
The general consensus among local market watchers is that Samsung may be able to rebound in the latter half of the year thanks to seasonal factors.
Mark?

Thank you Ji-yeon for that report.