Samsung sees bounce in Q1 ahead of Galaxy S8

The South Korean giant's latest quarterly likely benefited from its business supplying chips, displays and other components.

Shara Tibken Former managing editor

Shara Tibken was a managing editor at CNET News, overseeing a team covering tech policy, EU tech, mobile and the digital divide. She previously covered mobile as a senior reporter at CNET and also wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. Shara is a native Midwesterner who still prefers "pop" over "soda."

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Shara Tibken

April 6, 2017 5:03 p.m. PT

2 min read

Samsung's ready to claw its way back from the Galaxy Note 7 disaster.

The company on Thursday estimated its operating profit for the first quarter should jump nearly 50 percent from the same period a year ago, while its revenue should be about flat but better than analysts expected.

Samsung said its overall operating profit should leap to 9.9 trillion won ($8.8 billion) from 6.68 trillion won a year earlier. Its sales should total about 50 trillion Korean won ($44.2 billion), up from 49.78 trillion won a year earlier. The company didn't provide any commentary or details about its results.

Analysts expected Samsung to post revenue of 49.3 trillion won ($43.6 billion), according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

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Samsung's had a rough few months. In October, the company killed its large-screen phone, the Galaxy Note 7, after two battery flaws caused the device to overheat. The debacle cost Samsung an estimated $17 billion in sales. It also cost Samsung the lead in the global smartphone market, with Apple leapfrogging it in the fourth quarter of 2016 to become the world's biggest smartphone vendor. (The last time Apple had held the lead was in 2014 when it introduced its first big-screen phones, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.)

Samsung's estimate for the first quarter comes a week after it unveiled its next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8. The South Korean giant expects the device to help it recover from fallout from the Galaxy Note 7 and regain its footing in the mobile market. Despite a financial hit from the Galaxy Note 7 in recent quarters, Samsung has managed to generate strong results because of its components business.

Samsung's first-quarter results won't include any money made from the Galaxy S8. The device hits the market April 21.

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