Samsung Galaxy S6 sales disappoint

 

 

Samsung Electronics announced Tuesday expect a decline in results in the second quarter due to production delays and less successful Galaxy S6, rival of the iPhone that is highly successful worldwide.

 

The South Korean group expects an operating profit of 6.900 trillion won (5.5 billion euros) in the period April-June, down 4.03% year on year, a seventh straight decline in quarterly earnings .

 

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News agency expected this quarter an operating profit of 7.2 trillion, unchanged from the corresponding period in 2014.

 

It is, however, an increase of 15% compared to the first quarter of the current fiscal year, which explains the title Samsung, down 7.2% from the beginning of the year, has appreciated in Following the announcement, closing up 0.8%.

 

Revenues should come out to 48,000 billion won, down more than 8% year on year but up nearly 2% from the previous quarter. Analysts had expected 53,000 million.

 

The audited quarterly results will be published at the end of the month.

 

"Sales of Galaxy S6 were much weaker than expected," both because they struggle to win against the iPhone and because the Edge Galaxy S6, equipped with a curved screen, experiencing production delays, notes Greg Roh at HMC Investment Securities Co.

 

The shadow of Apple

 

"The Galaxy S6 quite early market but Samsung has underestimated the market demand for the model Edge", confirmed analysts KB Investment & Securities Co. in a note of July 3, cited by Bloomberg.

 

In an attempt to redress the balance, Samsung have launched the production of curved screens in a third plant with two months in advance, allowing it to double monthly production volumes to 5 million.

 

After considerable blows in 2014 amid slowing demand and saturated market, South Korea's placed its hopes on the latest version of its flagship range.

 

The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, launched in April, had been greeted by rave reviews and Samsung was betting on a rise in sales in the second quarter when sales were "booming".

 

 

Bet lost, so even if the South Korean has probably limited the damage, as in previous quarters, thanks to sales of its memory chips constantly growing sector for which it is investing billions of euros to keep its advantage.

 

Samsung had however recovered in the first quarter as world number one crown of smartphones sold to Apple in the fourth quarter 2014, according to figures from Gartner.

 

But Apple has since strengthened its presence in China where it became the first vendor. Samsung is also struggling in the entry-level or mid-range phones face the Chinese manufacturers like Lenovo and Xiaomi.

 

Succession to the top

 

Samsung Securities Co. brokerage in June lowered its sales forecast for Galaxy S6 to 45 million units in 2015, against 50 million previously estimated. According to his calculations, Samsung will sell a total of 78 million phones this year, against 85 million in 2014.

 

The Samsung title also benefited Tuesday of the final rejection by the South Korean justice of a series of actions brought by a hedge fund against a merger of subsidiaries.

 

The US fund Elliott Associates LP opposed the merger of Samsung C & T Corp which is a shareholder, and Cheil Industries, operation to strengthen the founding family's control of the South Korean giant when it prepares a succession at the top.

 

Samsung is a "chaebol" vast and diverse empire consisting of dozens of divisions, including the iconic Samsung Electronics, generating a total income equivalent to 20% of gross domestic product in South Korea.

 

In recent years, the group currently headed by the son of its founder, Lee Kun-hee, merged, split or entities introduced in Exchange to ensure his succession.