Samsung Electronics flags 25pc plunge in Q2 profit

SEOUL, July  8 (AFP) : Samsung estimated Tuesday that its operating profit would plunge nearly 25 per cent on year in the second quarter of 2014, as cheap Chinese devices and a strong won hammered down its share of the global smartphone market.
Operating profit was estimated at 7.2 trillion won ($7.1 billion) for the April-June period, compared to 9.53 trillion won a year ago -- the South Korean electronic giant's third straight quarter of year-on-year decline.
The Q2 operating profit was down 15.2 per cent from the 8.49 trillion won posted in the previous quarter.
The profit drop had been widely expected, but Tuesday's forecast still missed collated analyst estimates.
Samsung did not provide net income or details of division earnings ahead of the official earnings report to be filed later this month.
In an unusual move, Tuesday's forecast was accompanied by an explanatory note that the company said was to "address market and investor concerns" prior to the audited earnings release.
"The company witnessed a slowdown in the overall smartphone market growth and saw increased competition in the Chinese and some European markets," the note said.
"This led to higher inventories for the medium- and low-end smartphones," it said, adding that earnings had also been hit by the appreciation of the Korean won against the dollar, euro and most emerging market currencies.