Samsung has
become the world's largest mobile phone maker, outselling Nokia by 10 million
handsets in the first quarter. The South Korean firm now battles rival Apple in
the lucrative smartphone segment.
Samsung
Electronics raked in a record $5.2 billion (3.93 billion euros) in profits
after selling 93.5 million mobile phones in the first three months of 2012, the
South Korean firm announced Friday.
According
to figures released by Strategy Analytics, more than one in every four mobile
phone sold around the world was now made by Samsung, meaning the technology
firm had replaced Finish handset maker Nokia as global mobile phone leader.
Strong
demand for Samsung's high-end Galaxy smartphones caused its sales in this
segment to surge to 44.5 million handsets in the first quarter, outnumbering
even Apple's sales of 35.1 million iPhones, Strategy Analytics' data showed.
Samsung's
mobile communications division contributed a $3.7 billion operating profit to
the quarter result, masking lower profit from the firm's semiconductor business
where sales more than halved to $669 million.
"We
cautiously expect our earnings momentum to continue going forward as
competitiveness in our major businesses is enhanced," Robert Yi, head of
Samsung investor relations, said in a conference call Friday.
Smartphone
duopoly
Samsung's
mobile business president Shin Jong-kyun said the company was aiming to sell
380 million handsets this year, including 200 million smartphones - up from
last year's sales of 330 million and 97 million respectively.
After
outselling Nokia by 10 million handsets in the first quarter of 2012, Samsung
is locked in fierce competition with US iPhone maker Apple in the lucrative
smartphone market.
"Samsung
and Apple are out-competing most major rivals and the smartphone market is at
risk of become a two-horse race," Neil Mawston, an analyst with Strategy
Analytics, told Reuters news agency.
Samsung
hopes to increase its 30.6 percent share of the high-eng market over Apple's
24.1 percent with the launch of a new generation of its flagship Galaxy S
smartphone this summer.
"The
Galaxy S 3's specifications are expected to be sensational and it's already
drawing strong interest from the market and consumers, Brian Park, an analyst
at Tong Yang Securities told Reuters.
China - the
world's biggest and fastest growing mobile phone market - has become the main
battlefield of the two rivals with Samsung currently owning more than 30
percent of the Chinese market, but with Apple recently being able to boost its
iPhone 4S sales five-fold there.
uhe/sgb (Reuters, AP, dpa)
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