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The mood at Samsung Electronics’ DX Division, which makes smartphones, TVs and home appliances, is improving as new products are launched successfully. The division had been under pressure after posting quarterly losses amid soaring memory chip prices, while morale had also weakened because performance-based bonuses were lower than those of the Device Solutions Division, which makes semiconductors.
According to industry sources on the 17th, Samsung Electronics’ new foldable smartphone series, the Samsung Galaxy Z8 series, launched last month, recorded 1.44 million domestic preorders, setting a new all-time high among Galaxy smartphones. That surpassed the 1.38 million units set by the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 in 2019. By model, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, which features a new 4:3 aspect ratio display, accounted for about 70% of total sales.
The Samsung Galaxy Z8 series is also proving highly popular in global markets. According to Counterpoint Research, global preorders for the series rose by more than 30% from the previous model, and by more than 20% in Europe. More than half of global sales also came from the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8. In particular, purchases of the Z Fold 8 increased among people in their 20s and 30s, as well as women, groups that had not previously shown strong preference for Samsung Galaxy devices.
Although the preorder period has ended, demand remains strong. As of that day, customers ordering the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 through Samsung.com were being told to expect delivery in about a month.
Samsung Electronics’ monthlong social contribution event in June, the Thank You Festival, also played a major role in changing the atmosphere. By refunding 20% of the purchase price in Onnuri Gift Certificates, the company sharply boosted sales across its home appliance lineup.
With demand surging so sharply, Samsung Electronics is believed to have taken the No. 1 spot in the domestic robot vacuum cleaner market in June. It reclaimed the top position that had long been held by Chinese robot vacuum cleaner makers.
Despite the internal boost from these product successes, the outlook for future earnings remains bleak. Memory chip prices are expected to stay high, increasing cost pressures, while higher product prices are likely to reduce overall sales volume.
At the end of last month, Samsung Electronics’ DX Division said its MX Division, which handles mobile phones, posted an operating loss of 703 billion won in the second quarter. The combined operating profit of the Visual Display Business Division, which makes TVs, and the home appliance business also recorded a loss of 12 billion won. The problem is that losses in the DX Division are expected to continue in the third and fourth quarters as well.
Korea Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. forecast that Samsung Electronics’ mobile business and TV and home appliance business would remain in the red in the third and fourth quarters. It said the mobile business, which posted strong operating profit in the first quarter, would barely stay in the black on an annual basis, while the TV and home appliance business would post an annual loss. The firm also projected that the DX Division’s losses would widen further in 2027.
According to Samsung Electronics’ semiannual report released on the 17th, the DX Division’s raw material purchases totaled 41.5392 trillion won, up 247.63 billion won, or 6.3%, from the same period last year. In particular, the price of mobile memory, a key component, surged more than threefold, or 211%, compared with last year’s annual average, accounting for 5.0426 trillion won in costs. This shows that memory price costs, previously estimated at around 2 trillion won, rose sharply and became the biggest reason for the quarterly loss.
One industry source said, “If memory chip prices had not risen as they have now, the DX business division could have posted its best-ever results.” The source added, “The problem is that if memory chip prices remain at current levels next year, quarterly losses will have no choice but to continue.”
[Lee Deok-ju]
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.