Samsung Posts Second Straight Record Quarterly Profit

Samsung Electronics Co. delivered a record profit for a second straight quarter this year, as the South Korean technology company cashed in on continued strong demand for its electronics components.

The Suwon, South Korea-headquartered giant said net profit surged to 11.19 trillion South Korean won ($9.95 billion) for the three months ended Sept. 30, more than double its 4.54 trillion won net profit for the same period a year earlier.

Revenue hit 62.05 trillion won in the third quarter, up 30% from 47.82 trillion won a year earlier.

Samsung's results for the year-earlier period were hurt by the global recall of the company's fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in 2016, which led the company to slash its third-quarter earnings guidance by one-third and ultimately cost it about $6.5 billion.

Despite that high-profile stumble, Samsung executives have said that early sales for its two premium smartphones released this year, the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy Note 8, have outpaced those of their predecessors.

The company's previous record net profit of 11.05 trillion won came in the second quarter of this year. Samsung has raked in record profits this year, driven by a proliferation of internet-connected devices and servers that have buoyed demand for its semiconductors.

Also, smartphone rivals--most prominently Apple Inc.--are adopting flexible organic light-emitting diode, or OLED, displays.

Samsung has a roughly 95% market share for smartphone OLEDs, which enable phone makers to create thinner, sleeker-looking devices.

Operating profit almost tripled to an all-time high of 14.53 trillion won, from 5.2 trillion won in the same period a year earlier.

Samsung shares have risen about 50% so far this year, despite the aftershocks of the Galaxy Note 7 recall and the absence of Samsung's de facto leader Lee Jae-yong, who was convicted in August of bribing South Korea's former president.

Samsung, the world's largest maker of smartphones, memory chips and televisions, was also shaken earlier this month when a top executive, Kwon Oh-hyun, said that he planned to resign.

Write to Eun-Young Jeong at Eun-Young.Jeong@wsj.com and Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 30, 2017 21:03 ET (01:03 GMT)