Samsung Electronics flagged a gradual recovery for chips in the second half of the year after its semiconductor business reported a record loss on Thursday, driven by weak demand for tech devices.
A global downturn in semiconductor purchases amid an economic slowdown and weak customer spending sent chip prices plummeting in the first quarter, triggering production cuts across the sector.
Samsung (SSNLF) said its chip business would focus on high-capacity server and mobile products “based on expectations of a gradual market recovery and a rebound in global demand” in the second half.
For the current quarter, Samsung said it expected limited recovery for memory chips as major data center firms invested more conservatively in servers.
The world’s biggest memory chipmaker said operating profit fell to 640 billion won ($478.6 million) for the January-March quarter, down 95% from 14.12 trillion won a year earlier and the lowest profit for any quarter in 14 years.
Revenue fell 18% to 63.7 trillion won.
Comments