Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its operating earnings likely plunged in the first quarter from a year earlier amid falling memory chip prices and weak demand for display panels.
The operating profit was estimated at 6.2 trillion won (US$5.45 billion) in the January-March period, a 60.4 percent drop from a year ago, according to its earnings guidance.
The tech giant expected overall sales to have fallen 14.1 percent on-year to 52 trillion won in the three-month period.
Samsung did not break down performances of its respective business divisions, saying it will announce the detailed earnings later this month.
The figures were below market expectations of 6.7 trillion won, based on the survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency on 28 South Korean brokerage houses. The sales estimate stood at 53.4 trillion won on average.
The expected average was already significantly lower as the world's largest memory chip and smartphone maker last week warned investors of weaker-than-expected earnings, citing sluggish memory chip and display sales.