Samsung Announces Earnings Miss as Chip Prices Slide
Samsung Electronics on Tuesday announced that it foresees lower-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of this year due to falls in chip prices and slowing demand for display panels.
“Due to the worse-than-expected weakening of the display and memory markets, the company’s first-quarter performance is predicted to be poorer than market forecasts,” the tech giant said in a statement.
The display business suffered price falls in liquid crystal display panels and declining demand for flexible organic light-emitting diode panels, the company said.
DRAM chip prices fell more than 20 percent on average in the first quarter, according to DRAMeXchange.
Chipmakers have been hit hard by a glut in the global semiconductor industry triggered by weakening smartphone sales and falling investment from data center companies.
Samsung told shareholders at its annual general meeting last week that sales of memory products would likely revive in the second half of the year after a tough first half. U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology forecast a recovery in the memory chip market around the middle of the year.