Samsung orders TV and smartphones businesses improve earnings

Samsung has ordered its TV and smartphone businesses to find a solution to improve their earnings, TheElec has learned.

Samsung reported 63.75 trillion won in revenue and 640 billion won in operating income for the first quarter, a drop of 18% and 95%, respectively, from the same time period a year ago.

Operating profit dropped 13.48 trillion won year-on-year, with 13.3 trillion won of that coming from its chip business, which recorded an operating loss of 4.58 trillion won.

This poor performance by Samsung’s chip business overshadowed those of its other business units, which sources said are also at risk of dropping further.

Samsung’s TV business posted lower earnings in the first quarter compared to rival LG Electronics while the smartphone business has no growth propeller for the upcoming quarter.

Amid this climate, Samsung’s Business Support Task Force, the control tower of the conglomerate, has ordered the two business units to come up with a solution to improve their earnings, sources said.

Samsung’s smartphone business, called MX Business by the company, has responded to this order by launching its upcoming foldable phones up to three weeks faster than initially planned.

However, the situation for the TV business is more dire as liquid crystal display (LCD) panel prices are expected to increase in the second quarter compared to the first.

This means TV makers will burden more costs while demand is expected to remain low.