Photo: EPA-EFESamsung’s operating profit fell by 69 percent to 4.3 trillion won (US$3.4 billion) for the three months ended last month, missing the average estimate of 6.7 trillion won by analysts. Sales fell to 70 trillion won, the company said in a statement. Samsung is slated to provide a full financial statement with net income and information on divisional performance on Jan. 31. Samsung could sustain low profit in the first quarter after yesterday reporting preliminary operating profit for the fourth quarter last year about 35 percent below consensus, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Masahiro Wakasugi said. Its NAND chip segment might have been unprofitable last quarter due to severe price erosion, while DRAM might have generated a profit, Wakasugi said.
