Samsung Elec first quarter operating profit up 3% as chips soften virus blow

FILE PHOTO: People wears masks in front a Samsung Store at a main shopping area as the country is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus in downtown Shanghai, China February 21, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song

SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said its operating profit rose 3% in the January to March period, in line with its earlier estimate, as the stay-at-home trend due to the COVID-19 pandemic cushioned the virus blow.

The world’s top maker of memory chips and smartphones reported an operating profit of 6.4 trillion Korean won ($5.2 billion), compared with 6.2 trillion won a year ago and its earlier estimate of 6.4 trillion won.

It said its net profit fell 3% to 4.9 trillion won, while revenue climbed 5.6% to 55.3 trillion won.

Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman

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source: reuters.com