Samsung Electronics has reported a huge leap of 1,458% in its operating profit for the second quarter of 2024 (Q2 2024) at KRW10.44 trillion ($7.6bn), compared to KRW0.67 trillion ($480m) reported in the same quarter of the previous year. In the previous quarter, that is Q1 2024, the South Korean electronics company posted an operating profit of KRW6.61 trillion ($4.8bn).
The company’s consolidated revenue for the quarter ended 30 June 2024 grew by 23.4% to KRW74.07 trillion ($54bn), compared to KRW60.01 trillion ($43.71bn) in the corresponding quarter of the prior year. For Q1 2024, Samsung Electronics’ revenue was KRW71.92 trillion ($52.4bn). According to the South Korean group, favourable memory market conditions led to an increase in the average sales price (ASP). In addition, the company stated that strong sales of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels contributed to the Q2 2024 results.
Growth in device solutions, mobile display business strong
Samsung Electronics’ device solutions (DS) division, which comprises the memory, system LSI, and foundry business units, had a consolidated revenue of KRW28.56 trillion ($20bn) in the reported quarter. The company said that the revenue has been driven by robust demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM), conventional DRAM, and server SSDs. This increased demand has been attributed by the South Korean group to the continued investments by cloud service providers in artificial intelligence (AI) alongside the rising demand for the technology from businesses for their on-premises servers.
Samsung’s Display unit reported consolidated revenue of KRW7.65 trillion ($5.5bn) in Q2 2024. The mobile display business saw sales growth due to strong demand for flagship products and successful support of key customers’ new smartphone launches, said the company. The company’s MX and networks businesses had KRW27.38 trillion ($19.9bn) in revenue while the visual display and digital appliances unit posted revenue of KRW14.42 trillion ($10.5bn) in the reported quarter. Samsung Electronics also expects the robust demand for HBM, DDR5 as well as server SSDs to extend in the second half of the year on AI applications.
Samsung Electronics continues AI push
Earlier this month, the South Korean group snapped up Oxford Semantic Technologies, a UK-based AI startup that specialises in the production of knowledge graph software. Samsung has collaborated with Oxford Semantic Technologies since 2018, including investments from Samsung Ventures. This acquisition will bolster Samsung’s capabilities in personal knowledge graphs, which integrate data from multiple services to deliver a more personalised user experience.
Leveraging on-device AI technology, like that found in Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series, this technology allows for hyper-personalised experiences while keeping sensitive data secure on the device. It will be implemented across Samsung’s entire product range, from mobile devices to televisions and home appliances.
When it comes to AI, Samsung Electronics is advancing its technology with the development of Samsung Gauss, a generative AI model. This model is being built to optimise the balance between size and performance for various Samsung products and services, emphasising efficiency rather than simply maximising performance metrics. Samsung Electronics intends to incorporate Samsung Gauss into a broad array of its product applications, aiming to transform user experiences in the near future.
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