Samsung Electronics is one of the first major tech giants to announce earnings figures since the coronavirus pandemic broke out, and so far it appears the company was relatively unaffected, writes The Verge.
Today, the South Korean multinational conglomerate released its guidance, in which it states that Samsung’s first-quarter revenue was approximately $44.9-billion – a 5% year-on-year increase. Operating profit is also expected to rise by 3% to $5.23-billion.
[Tweet “Samsung’s first-quarter revenue was approximately $44.9-billion – a 5% year-on-year increase, so far it appears the company was relatively unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic.”]
The company does not break its earnings guidance down by division or comment on its business performance. This information is only expected in the final report to be released later in the month.
Further, as SK Kim of Daiwa Securities, an investment banking company, told CNBC, the company’s memory chip unit is likely to perform very well at the moment as there is currently a high demand for the product for data centres as more people shift to working from home.
However, it does seem quite inevitable that Samsung’s consumer electronics businesses will be affected by retail closures around the world, supply chain disruption, and financial uncertainty. This impact may not be reflected in the company’s financial results yet, but how grand the impact solely depends on how long the pandemic will draw out.
Apple Continues to Struggle
American multinational tech head-honcho Apple is facing a lengthy and highly publicized war of attrition against the coronavirus pandemic. From as early as February the company was facing decreases in revenue.
In the same month, it faced a 60% drop in shipments around the world. Reports indicated that iPhone shipments plunged to 494,000 units in February 2020 from over 1.2 million units in February 2019.
Currently, due to issues in the supply chain, as well with concerns that the global pandemic will lower consumer appetite for top-of-the-range smartphones, Apple is in heavy considerations of delaying the launch of their latest iPhone, the iPhone 12, by even as far as another year to the end of 2021.
Now, according to The Verge, Apple is already expecting to miss its forecast for the quarter due to the pandemic’s impact.
Edited by Luis Monzon
Follow Luis Monzon on Twitter
Follow IT News Africa on Twitter
