Company estimates it posted highest profit since Q3 2022
Profit better than analysts expected, revenue misses
Detailed earnings due on April 30

SEOUL, April 5 Reuters Samsung Electronics estimated on Friday its firstquarter operating profit would rise more than 10fold, topping market expectations, as chip prices have started to rebound from a severe downturn thanks to a boom in artificial intelligence.

But the guidance was not enough to cheer investors who sent Samsung shares down 1.3 early on Friday, in line with a 1.1 drop in the wider South Korean market, as they await updates on progress in its highend memory chip business that has been lagging behind rivals.

The world39;s largest memory chip and TV maker estimated its operating profit rose to a betterthanexpected 6.6 trillion won 4.89 billion in the quarter ended March 31, beating a 5.7 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate.

That was up 931 from 640 billion won a year earlier and would be Samsung39;s highest operating profit since the third quarter of 2022.

But revenue missed expectations, likely rising 11 from the same period a year earlier to 71 trillion won, below a LSEG SmartEstimate of 72.3 trillion won.

Since revenue was mostly in line but operating profit beat expectations, the inventory valuation of NAND flash chips may have improved. Demand for NAND has improved, which may have improved margins as well, said Park Sungsoon, an analyst at Korea Investor Relations Service.

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