Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to post a weaker performance for the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, analysts said Monday, apparently due to the slowed growth of its chip business.

Local analysts said the South Korean tech giant is forecast to report an operating profit of 13.9 trillion won (US$12.3 billion) for the October-December period, down 7.6 percent from the 15.1 trillion won reached a year earlier.

Sales are estimated at 63.8 trillion won, down 3.2 percent over the cited period, analysts added. The company is expected to announce its fourth quarter earnings guidance report in early January.

It will mark the first time for the quarterly operating profit to fall below the 14 trillion-won mark since the 9.9 trillion won reported for the first quarter of 2017.

The operating profit estimate is also down 20.5 percent from the 17.5 trillion won posted in the third quarter of this year, which was a record high.

The weaker outlook for the October-December period came as the global price of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash memory chips dropped.

Other uncertainties include the trade discord between Washington and Beijing, the rapid changes in the international financial market and China's large-scale investment in the semiconductor industry.

For all of 2018, however, Samsung Electronics is expected to enjoy a record operating profit of 62.6 trillion won, breaking the previous high of 53.6 trillion won from last year.

By: DocMemory
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