SEOUL — Samsung Electronics said Thursday its first-quarter profit rose more than fivefold from a year earlier, driven by strong demand for high-end memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications.
Net profit for the three months ended in March climbed to 47.22 trillion won, or about $31.8 billion, from 8.22 trillion won a year earlier, the company said.
Operating profit jumped more than eightfold to 57.23 trillion won from 6.68 trillion won, while sales rose 69.2 percent to 133.87 trillion won from 79.14 trillion won, according to Yonhap news agency.
“The record quarterly operating profit and sales were primarily driven by robust sales of high-margin AI chips and rising memory prices in the device solutions division,” the company said.
Samsung said a weaker won against the U.S. dollar also added 1.8 trillion won to operating profit.
The company said it expects solid performance in the second quarter as global technology firms continue heavy investment in AI infrastructure, supporting demand for memory chips and helping sustain prices.
Major technology companies, including Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., have been increasing spending on data centers and related hardware, boosting demand for AI chips.
To meet growing demand, Samsung said it plans to expand supply of sixth-generation high-bandwidth memory, or HBM4, this year.
At its annual shareholders meeting last month, Samsung said it would consider placing greater emphasis on multiyear contracts to help stabilize supply. The company said such agreements could support pricing and provide some protection against cyclical downturns.
However, Samsung faces the possibility of a general strike by its 75,380 unionized workers, who are demanding that 15 percent of annual operating profit be allocated for employee compensation each year.
The union has threatened to begin an 18-day general strike on May 21 unless the company offers an acceptable performance-based pay framework.
Some analysts have warned that a prolonged strike could disrupt chip production. Others said the impact may be limited because memory manufacturing facilities are highly automated. (Source: IANS)
