Samsung’s chip business barely avoided posting a profit loss in the fourth quarter of 2022 as the memory chip market reeled from price drops caused by weak demand.
The South Korean tech giant said it recorded 70.46 trillion won in revenue and 4.31 trillion won in operating income during the quarter. Operating income dropped by nearly 70% from the same time period in 2021.
This dip was caused mostly by the poor performance of Samsung’s chip business.
The business unit contributed only 270 billion won to the total operating income figure, its worst performance since the second quarter of 2009 when it recorded 240 billion won.
Samsung said it saw a valuation loss of its memory chip inventory as well as continued inventory adjustment from its customers.
Logic chip also fared poorly during the quarter for similar reasons, the tech giant said, but its foundry business saw revenue growth from high customer demand.
However, Samsung Display contributed 1.82 trillion won in operating income; while demand for display panels from mid-tier smartphones was low, the business unit saw solid sales from flagships.
In large panels, Samsung Display saw a profit loss but this rate was lower than the previous quarter thanks to expanded sales of QD-OLED panels.
Samsung’s consumer electronics business contributed 1.64 trillion won in operating income to the total.
Its phone business saw revenue and profit drops from the previous quarter, but TV sales did increase over the same time period.
