Amidst all the soap opera ongoings of the Apple vs Samsung battle, the South Korean smartphone and electronics giant has shown record profits for the most recent financial quarter, almost double the figure of the year before at US$7.3-billion.
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And depending on the outcome of its appeal to overturn the US verdict in August, this would be a welcome stash of cash for Samsung. After if it loses, it’s going to have to cough up more than US$1-billion awarded to Apple in damages for patent infringement. Samsung stock has also risen over seven percent since its patent suit defeat in August, while Apple has achieved a rise of less than one percent.
Despite a fall of demand in memory chips, as smartphones and tablets now require less external memory, strong handset and television sales seems to have helped Samsung after it speeding up its marketing to counter the release of the iPhone 5. Most of its profit driven is by handset sales in the global smartphone market, now worth an estimated US$200-billion.
“The biggest risk for Samsung is competitive product line-ups from its rivals such as the iPhone 5. Because handsets drive most of its profits, one misstep in handsets could result in losses for the whole Samsung group,” said Byun Han-joon, an analyst at KB Investment & Securities.
Apart from the bloody nose it took in August, the electronics giant’s brand value has soared, shipping more handsets and smartphones than any of its rivals. Samsung’s brand value is now rated as ninth in the world at US$32.9-billion, even clipping Toyota, considered the world’s largest car manufacturer.
Apple is still rated as the second most valuable company in the world, at US$76.6-billion.
