Samsung Electronics' 2018 Q4 earnings lower than expected

Samsung Electronics ended 2018 on a bit of a bum note.
South Korea's biggest tech firm posted much lower-than-expected operating profits during the October-to-December period.
However,... all-in-all,... 2018 was another stellar year for Samsung,... especially in terms of sales.
Kim Ji-yeon reports.

2018 for Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics could be summed up as bittersweet... as it releases its provisional earnings report on Tuesday.
Q4 earnings have dropped sharply, mainly due to sluggish demand in the memory chip business... and growing competition in the smartphone sector.
Operating profits in the fourth quarter tumbled 28-point-7-percent on-year to around 9-point-7-billion U.S. dollars ...
while Q4 sales dropped by nearly 10-point-6-percent to record 52-point-8-billion dollars.
That's much lower than predictions made by local analysts which estimated Samsung Electronics would see 10-point-7-billion dollars in Q4 operating profits and Q4 sales of 55-point-4-billion dollars.
Meanwhile, the company's 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 surpassed 217-point-7-billion dollars... and operating profits amounted to more than 53-point-6-billion dollars.
But the worst may be yet to come for Samsung... as analysts anticipate semiconductor prices to drop further this year as customers cut their orders.

"The root cause of dwindling demand for semiconductors and smartphones comes from rising uncertainties in trade stemming from tit-for-tat tariffs from China and the U.S., on top of signs of a slowing global economy."

The expert says a dramatic uptick in earnings is unlikely as global chip manufacturers undergo inventory adjustment... while the general consensus among local market watchers is that Samsung may be able to rebound in the latter half of 2019 due to seasonal factors.
The Korean smartphone maker has attempted to recover from the dismal fourth quarter figures by joining hands with U.S. tech giant Apple... a rare move considering they've been locked into years-long patent suits around the world.
They've announced Sunday that Samsung's smart TVs will offer iTunes' movie and TV show service from this spring.
Both companies face challenges from Chinese competitors as they expand their presence in China and other emerging markets.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.