SEOUL (REUTERS) – Samsung Electronics on Wednesday (April 7) said first-quarter profit likely rose 44 per cent, which analysts attributed to brisk sales of home appliances, smartphones and TVs, though chip earnings likely fell after a winter storm halted US output.

The South Korean technology giant forecast January-March operating profit of 9.3 trillion won (S$11 billion), in line with a 9.3 trillion won analyst forecast from Refinitiv SmartEstimate.

Revenue likely rose 17 per cent from the same period a year prior to 65 trillion won, the firm said in a short preliminary earnings release.

Samsung is due to release detailed earnings later this month.

Analysts said Samsung’s mobile division likely saw operating profit soar more than 1 trillion won to about 4.15 trillion won after its flagship Galaxy S21 smartphone series outsold the previous version by a two-to-one margin in the six weeks since its January launch, according to research provider Counterpoint.

A lower starting price for the flagship helped sales for the world’s largest smartphone maker during the quarter, with the S21 priced US$200 lower than the S20, Counterpoint said.

In its chip division, analysts said profit likely fell about 20 per cent to 3.6 trillion won due to the cost of ramping up new domestic production and losses at its Texas factory following a mid-February stoppage, blunting the benefits of globally strong demand.

Profit in Samsung’s television set and home appliance business likely more than doubled to around 1 trillion won, analysts said, due to continued stay-at-home demand.