Samsung estimates Q2 2013 operating profit at $8.3 billion, up 47% year-on-year

Samsung has estimated its operating profit for the second quarter of 2013 at KRW9.5 trillion ($8.3 billion) and revenue at KRW57 trillion ($49 billion).

This would give the Korean company a 47 percent year-on-year increase in profit from a revised KRW6.46 trillion in Q2 2012 – slowing from the 54 percent growth it posted in Q1 2013 – and a 20 percent year-on-year increase in revenue from KRW47.60 trillion during the same period.

The earnings guidance, released ahead of its earnings announcement on July 26, missed an analyst forecast released by Reuters that projected profit of KRW10.16 trillion ($8.9 billion), and hints that Samsung may have fallen flat on the market’s high expectations for its growth.

The first quarter had been a seasonal lull for Samsung as it released its flagship Samsung Galaxy S4 only in the second quarter. After announcing guidance of KRW8.7 trillion in profit and KRW52 trillion in revenue, the company posted official earnings that saw its profit at KRW8.78 trillion (up 54 percent on-year from Q1 2012) and revenue at KRW52.87 trillion.

Samsung was expected to post higher earnings in the current quarter, as analysts were expecting strong smartphone sales to revive its growth exponentially. The Samsung Galaxy S4 has officially become the company’s fastest-selling phone ever, passing 10 million channel sales within one month of its launch and with recent reports saying that the device has already tipped the 20 million shipment mark.

However, even these milestones haven’t seemed attractive enough for analysts. The Wall Street Journal reports that brokerages have been downgrading the company’s stock and revising downward their shipping and earnings forecasts, with Samsung’s market value since mid-March declining by nearly $30 billion. The stock fell another 3 percent in early Seoul trading as it released its earnings guidance today.

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