Thanks to strong memory sales, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. today reported a 46.2 percent year-over-year increase in Q3 net profit to $2.34 billion (2.69 trillion Korean won), but a sequential drop of 14.1 percent due to lower prices of flat screens for TV and computers. Q3 sales increased to $12.52 billion (14.34 trillion KRW), a rise of 27.4 percent compared to Q3 2003 and a 4.3 percent sequential dip.

Sinking prices of liquid crystal displays (LCD) for flat-screen TVs and of flash memory chips commonly used in such products as digital cameras is heaping pressure on Samsung. Growing competition in the mobile phone market, evidenced by price cuts at market leader Nokia has also hurt profit margins at Samsung, the third-biggest handset maker.

Still, Samsung is staying optimistic and said it expects Q4 global PC shipments to increase 14 percent sequentially, continuing a rebound that boosted demand for its chips in the past three months.

Broken out, Samsung's semiconductor memory sales rose 1.9 percent sequentially to $3.18 billion (3.64 trillion KRW) and 42.7 percent from Q3 2003. Meanwhile, Samsung’s LCD sales dropped 23.1 percent sequentially to $1.67 billion (1.9 trillion KRW), showing a 37.7 percent increase over Q3 2003.