Samsung net income down 72%, cellphone revenues up

Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported its first-quarter financial information, with net income totaling $459 million, which is 72-percent below last year's quarter, according to the Wall Street Journal. The lackluster performance was blamed on operating losses that exceeded a slight improvement in the consumer divisions. Despite the year-over-year decline, the company appears to have recovered from its first-ever operating loss reported last quarter.

The chip business, one of the most important segments for Samsung, showed a 15-percent drop in revenue to $2.8 billion. Executives expect difficulties in the memory-chip business to continue through the second quarter.

The cellphone division marked the greatest gain for the company, with a 36 percent jump in revenue and an operating profit reaching $697 million. Samsung was only able to achieve $118 million in cellphone profits for the last quarter.

LG, another competitor based in Korea, recently reported a loss of $148 million for the quarter, while its cellphone shipments dropped by seven percent. Nokia's sales dropped 19 percent year-over-year, while Sony Ericsson reported a 35 percent slide.

Samsung's flat-panel displays brought an operating loss, following similar performance last year. The consumer electronics division recovered, however, with a profit of $111 million.

Despite the overall turnaround from last quarter, Samsung executives remain uncertain about the global economy. They said it would be difficult to consider the recent quarter as an absolute turning point for the company's performance.