Samsung Electronics Co Ltd saw a 45% jump in profit for January-March.
The surge comes from robust sales of smartphones, TVs and home appliances, though chip division earnings are seen tumbling after a storm suspended production at its U.S. plant.
Spending more time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, consumers have splashed out on an array of high-margin consumer electronics which in turn has helped cause a global shortage of semiconductors.
Operating profit for the South Korean tech giant in the quarter is expected to have climbed to 9.3 trillion won ($8.2 billion), according to a Refinitiv SmartEstimate.
That would mark Samsung’s highest operating income level for the first quarter since 2018. Revenue likely rose 12%.
Samsung is scheduled to announce preliminary first-quarter results on Wednesday.
In particular, its mobile division looks like it had a stand-out quarter, benefiting from the launch of its Galaxy S21 series in mid-January – more than a month ahead of the flagship model’s usual annual release schedule.
The world’s largest smartphone maker is estimated to have cornered roughly 23% of global market in the quarter, thanks to that launch and cheaper-than-usual pricing for its premium devices, according to Counterpoint Research.
That compares with 20% market share in the same quarter a year ago and 16% market share in the previous quarter when arch-rival Apple Inc released the iPhone 12.
High-margin accessories such as Galaxy Buds did brisk business as well, analysts said. They estimate operating profit for the division likely soared by more than 1 trillion won from a year earlier to about 4.15 trillion won.
Samsung’s TV and home appliance business is expected to see operating profit more than double to around 1 trillion won.
