Samsung Announces Record Profit

Samsung, announced that its net income for last year exceeded 10.7 trillion won (US$10.3 billion), making it the first company in South Korea to achieve the landmark figure. Last year, Samsung said it sold 86.53 million handsets worldwide, up 55 percent from a year ago. For all of 2004, Samsung’s net income jumped 81 percent to a record 10.7 trillion won. Full-year sales rose 32.2 percent to 57.6 trillion won, the company said. 

Chu Woo-sik, senior vice president of Samsung’s investor relations division, said the company plans to buy back 2 trillion won worth of its own shares this year to boost returns for its shareholders. “In the first quarter of this year, we see the handset operating profit margin rising to 15 percent,” Chu said in a conference call. This year, he said, Samsung plans to introduce 10 new 3G handset models that allow faster Internet access and other multimedia functions. Continue >>