Best quarterly profit so far this year
Shares open 3.3 higher
Memory chip prices likely hit bottom in Q3analysts

SEOUL, Oct 11 Reuters Samsung Electronics on Wednesday said its preliminary thirdquarter profit dropped by a smallerthanexpected 78, as the battered memory chip market shows early signs of recovering from a severe downturn.

Samsung shares opened 3.3 higher versus a 1.4 rise in the wider market, as analysts said memory chip prices likely bottomed in the third quarter, with some types starting to rebound.

The world39;s largest memory chip and smartphone maker estimated its operating profit fell to 2.4 trillion won 1.79 billion in JulySeptember, from 10.85 trillion won a year earlier in a short preliminary earnings statement.

The profit beat a 2.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

It39;s better than expected. Although the situation is not great in the chip business… the decline in memory prices is easing, and further drops will be limited, said Ko Yeongmin, an analyst at Daol Investment Securities.

Though down sharply from last year, Samsung39;s third quarter profit was well above the first quarter39;s 640 billion won, the lowest since 2009, and the second quarter39;s 670 billion won.

The company reported losses of 4.58 trillion won and 4.36 trillion in its chip business in the first and second quarter respectively, as memory chip prices plunged and its inventory…