Samsung's fourth quarter earnings are now in the books and despite the fact that profits are down compared to last year, the company is still likely well ahead of anyone else in the market in terms of sheer shipments.
As expected, mobile was huge for Samsung as they sold $29.6 billion during the quarter. That's up from $27.3 billion in the year-ago period but down from the $32.4 billion during the third quarter. In total, mobile phones and networking gear accounted for two-thirds of Samsung's quarterly profits.
The Korean tech giant reported roughly $7.8 billion in operating profit during the fourth quarter compared to $8.27 billion during the same time a year ago. This had led some industry analysts to the conclusion that growth is slowing but Samsung was on the defense.
The company pointed out that tablet sales doubled year-over-year and the drop in profit? That was due to marketing costs and inventory adjustments at the end of the year which lowered shipments and ate into profits.
Elsewhere, two independent reports highlight a one-off $745 million bonus payment to employees as part of the 20th anniversary of the company's "New Management Initiative" also had an impact on quarterly results. What's more, a stronger Korean won was responsible for cutting 700 million won from profits, we're told.
Mobile will still be Samsung's bread and butter but moving forward, I suspect we will see a lot of focus on Samsung's 4K Ultra HD television division as manufacturing techniques improve and prices begin to drop.