Samsung falls short of Q3 earnings forecast, management issues apology

[Anchor]

Hello everyone, this is KBS News at 9 PM on October 8th.

The Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics apologized today (10.8).

This is because the preliminary results for the third quarter fell significantly short of market and securities expectations and forecasts.

Reporter Hwang Da-ye reports on the apology from the representative company of South Korea as our first story.

[Report]

Samsung Electronics announced today that its third-quarter sales were 79 trillion Korean won, and operating profit was 9.1 trillion Korean won.

Although this is the highest sales ever and the operating profit increased by 274% compared to the same period last year, it has been evaluated as significantly below market expectations.

Just two months ago, the securities industry's forecast for Samsung's operating profit was in the 13 trillion won range, and it was recently lowered to the 10 trillion won range, but even that was not achieved.

[Kim Dong-won/Head of Research Center at KB Securities: "Due to weak demand for smartphones and PCs, memory semiconductor shipments have decreased, and non-memory losses have expanded, which seems to have led to the third-quarter results falling short of expectations due to the reflection of performance bonuses."]

Samsung Electronics explained the reasons for the decline almost simultaneously with the earnings announcement, and unusually, a letter of apology from the head of the semiconductor division was also released.

Jeon Young-hyun, head of the Device Solutions Division, said, "I apologize for causing concern," and "All responsibility lies with the management."

He also stated, "We will turn this crisis into an opportunity," but the market's reaction was lukewarm.

Due to the disappointing results, Samsung Electronics' stock price barely maintained the 60,000 won level today.

Detailed results by business segment for Samsung Electronics will be announced at the end of this month.

This is KBS News, Hwang Da-ye.