Story first appeared on ABC News -
The two biggest — and bitterest — rivals in the smartphone market will have to endure another bruising trial after a federal judge ruled that jurors miscalculated nearly half the $1 billion in damages it found Samsung Electronics owed Apple Inc. for patent infringement.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh wiped out $450 million from the verdict and ordered a new trial to reconsider damages related to 14 Samsung products including some products in its hot-selling Galaxy lineup jurors in August found were using Apple's technology without permission. Koh said jurors in the three-week trial had not properly followed her instruction in calculating some of the damages.
She also concluded that mistakes had been made in determining when Apple had first notified Samsung about the alleged violations of patents for its trend-setting iPhone and IPad.
"We are pleased that the court decided to strike $450,514,650 from the jury's award," Samsung spokeswoman Lauren Restuccia said.
Koh didn't toss out the jurors underlying finding that two dozen Samsung products infringed patents Apple used to develop its iPad and iPhone products. The new jury will be tasked with only determining what Samsung owes Apple.
Apple declined to comment on the Koh's ruling, which still did leave Samsung with a bill to just under $599 million. The judge said the tab will probably increase after the appeals of both companies are resolved.
Apple is seeking more damages and Samsung a complete dismissal of the case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Washington, D.C.-based court that handles all patent appeals. The new trial to recalculate the damages could also increase the award.
Still, the ruling was the second significant setback in Koh's courtroom since the headline grabbing verdict was announced.
In December, Koh refused to order a sales ban on the products the jury found infringed Apple's patents. She said Apple failed to prove the purloined technology is what drove consumers to buy a Samsung product instead of an Apple iPhone or iPad. Samsung says that it is continues to sell only three of the two dozen products found to have infringed Apple's patents.
After a three-week trial closely followed in Silicon Valley, the jury decided that Samsung ripped off the trailblazing technology and sleek designs used by Apple to create its revolutionary iPhone and iPad. Jurors ordered Samsung to pay Apple $1.05 billion.
Apple filed another lawsuit last year accusing Samsung's newer line of products of continuing to use technology controlled by Apple. Koh has scheduled trial in that case for early next year. She has implored both companies on several occasions to settle their difference with little success.
Apple filed its patent infringement lawsuit in April 2011 and engaged legions of the country's highest-paid patent lawyers to demand $2.5 billion from its top smartphone competitor. Samsung Electronics Co. fired back with its own lawsuit seeking $399 million.
The jury found that several Samsung products illegally used such Apple creations as the "bounce-back" feature when a user scrolls to an end image, and the ability to zoom text with a tap of a finger.
Samsung has mounted an aggressive post-trial attack on the verdict, raising a number of legal issues that allege the South Korean company was treated unfairly in a federal courtroom a dozen miles from Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Samsung alleges that some of Apple's patents shouldn't have been awarded in the first place and that the jury made mistakes in calculating the damage award.
Samsung has emerged as one of Apple's biggest rivals and has overtaken it as the leading smartphone maker. Samsung's Galaxy line of phones run on Android, a mobile operating system that Google Inc. has given out for free to Samsung and other phone makers.
Apple and Samsung have filed similar lawsuits in eight other countries, including South Korea, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, Britain, France and Australia.
Showing posts with label samsung. Show all posts
Showing posts with label samsung. Show all posts
Monday, March 4, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
Record quarterly profits reported by Samsung
Story first appeared on Mercury News
Samsung Electronics reported Friday forecast-beating results for the fourth quarter of 2012 as profit from its mobile business more than doubled from a year earlier.
Samsung's October-December net income reached 7.04 trillion won ($6.58 billion), a 76 percent surge of 4.01 trillion won a year earlier. Analysts expected 6.95 trillion won in income according to FactSet.
Sales and operating income were slightly higher than its earlier preview. Sales rose 19 percent over a year earlier to 56.06 trillion won and operating income jumped 89 percent to 8.84 trillion won.
Increased sales of smartphones were the key source of its stellar profit. Samsung, which overtook Apple Inc. (AAPL) as the top smartphone maker last year, said its operating profit from the division that makes and sells smartphones and tablets more than doubled to 5.44 trillion won in the fourth quarter, from 2.56 trillion won a year earlier.
The company's component divisions that make semiconductor products and display panels also benefited from a rise in demand for smartphones. Sales of mobile processors that power popular devices such as Apple's iPhones and Samsung's own Galaxy smartphones boosted the bottom line.
The recovery in the display panel division was also led by strong sales of advanced mobile-phone screens called OLED, which are mostly found in high-end Samsung smartphones. The display division posted 1.11 trillion won in profit compared with a small loss a year earlier.
Analysts said Samsung will likely to see a continued rise in smartphone sales this year, especially in low- and mid-priced models where it sees no competition from Apple. Analysts forecast Apple, which keeps its iPhone price high, will sees iPhone sales plateau in coming years as more consumers snap up cheaper phones and more variety in screen sizes. Bullish analysts forecast Samsung smartphone shipments to rise as much as 50 percent this year from 2012.
Market researcher ABI Research said last month Samsung's 2012 smartphone market share topped 30 percent. In comparison, it said Apple's market share will peak at 22 percent in 2013 and remain flat through 2018, seeing a widening gap with Samsung.
Still, Apple's business has been more profitable because of the high price of the iPhone, which generates a larger profit per sales. Samsung, which makes dozens handset models a year and customizes them for mobile operators, also sells cheaper smartphones and spends about three times more on the expense called selling, general and administrative expense that include marketing and advertising costs for to promote its Galaxy brand.
Samsung's SG&A expense amounted to 12.67 trillion won ($11.84 billion) in the fourth quarter, 23 percent of its sales. Apple's SG&A expense was $3.85 billion in the same period, just 7 percent of its sales.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Bendable Displays In The Near Future?
Story first appeared in USA Today.
In the film The Graduate, cynical young protagonist Benjamin Braddock is pulled aside by an elder with sage advice: "Just one word. … Plastics," he whispers. "There's a great future in plastics."
The line became part of Hollywood lore, underpinning the yawning gulf between the counterculture and the status quo.
But 45 years after it entered the American zeitgeist, the punch line is serious stuff for tech companies such as Samsung and Hewlett-Packard. Flexible-display technology, the pliable plastic casings that many predict will be the next iteration of laptops and tablets, is morphing into all sorts of cool gadgets of the near future.
In a few years, bendable displays will be everywhere, adorning coffee mugs, newspapers, car dashboards and sunroofs, white boards, backpacks, refrigerators — you name it. Within five years, every surface becomes a display.
The question, though, is when? And to what extent?
Flexible displays — computing screens that can be rolled, folded or flexed — can take the form of personal devices, such as an eReader, or larger surface displays, such as furniture or wallpaper.
Yet the flexible narrative has experienced fits and starts for years, and it still isn't likely to take hold until 2015.
The field is littered with noble failures and unfulfilled promises.
Philips Electronics spinoff Polymer Vision promoted its flexible eReader for years but declared bankruptcy before bringing the device to market. Hewlett-Packard has been developing printable Mylar displays that it imagines could be used for candy wrappers, armband computers for the military or living-room wallpaper, but the displays are still several years from commercialization.
The most likely scenario is that wildly popular tablets will be the first iteration of flexible technology.
Other emerging technology, such as wearables, embedded devices and mini-projectors, might catch on sooner when new manufacturing processes ramp up. Consumers would love to bend or fold devices. Rather than carry a phone and a tablet, you could unfold a large screen from your phone.
Any surface will do …
The promise of unbreakable, lightweight, non-glass displays has researchers and engineers at HP, Samsung and elsewhere toiling away in hopes of tapping into a potential gold mine.
Despite ups and downs, sales for flexible displays are expected to zoom to $8.2 billion in 2018 from $85 million in 2008.
Foldable technology is expected to take form in:
•Wristbands. HP is developing prototypes with the U.S. Army of a wristband for foot soldiers that is something out of the old Dick Tracy comic strip. HP also is huddling with the NFL about the possibility of an electronic wristband for quarterbacks to view and call plays.
Soldiers would be fitted with a bendable wristband that could also be sewn into their uniform's cuff. The small display could function as a combination Global Positioning System, shortwave radio and field manual for vehicle repairs. Such a device would significantly reduce the estimated 70 pounds of equipment typically lugged by soldiers, without sacrificing ruggedness.
A solar-powered wrist unit is set to undergo field testing by the military later this year.
The NFL could replace the balky helmet microphone now used with a plastic band for quarterbacks and defensive players to relay and view formations. The NFL had no comment.
Another possible use is digital bracelets for hospital patients, says Carl Taussig, director of HP Labs' Advanced Display Research.
•Kitchen counters. Microsoft's home of the future — think Ozzie and Harriet meets Futurama— is chock-full of digital displays, none more eye-catching than its kitchen counter.
The marble surface doubles as a display capable of input for ingredients and recipes. The graphics are beamed from an overhead projector, which could become a staple of homes within five years.
•Cars. Toyota showed a model at the Tokyo auto show late last year and the Detroit auto show this year that it described as a "smartphone on four wheels." In Tokyo, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda unfurled the Fun-Vii (vehicle interactive Internet), which lets drivers change the car's color — both exterior and interior. Flexible screens embedded in the car's body allow the Fun-Vii to display multiple colors.
•Buildings. Remember the dystopian city in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner with screens that show advertisements built into buildings?
NanoLumens designs and engineers large, energy-efficient LED displays for commercial use. Its flagship product is the world's first flexible LED screen that is 112 inches diagonal, an inch thick and only 80 pounds.
The NanoFlex product is used to show video on a curved wall at the NASCAR Museum in Charlotte. A NanoSlim product is installed at the Mac Cosmetics store in New York's SoHo neighborhood
The thin but durable screens are being tested for advertising use at trade shows and in subways and airports. You can pressure wash it and bounce a beer bottle off of it.
China, home to some of the world's largest buildings, is a prime candidate for even larger displays.
What are consequences, if any?
So what's wrong with this picture of a seemingly boundless market for flexible displays?
The immense promise is undercut by nagging issues, such as the difficulty in properly bending silicon-containing electronic components.
Costly, time-consuming manufacturing processes also remain a steep hurdle. There are plenty of obstacles, none more so than glass-based displays.
The ticklish task of laying electronic components on glass, stainless steel or plastic is a tricky, multiple-step process that can be pricey.
The industry will only achieve mass production at affordable prices when it makes the inevitable, and necessary, shift to roll-to-roll manufacturing — as is customary in the newspaper industry. And that's a few years away.
Germany-based PolyIC is making flexible touch-screens. Corning has shown flexible glass that can be used in roll-to-roll manufacturing, and a low-end display from Samsung is a prime candidate for such a process. E Ink, Plastic Logic, Infinite Power Solutions and Universal Display all are doing interesting things in the field, but it is a work in progress.
Bendable displays can be made, but mass manufacturing is the obstacle.
There have been advances — LG just announced it started mass production of its electronic paper display product, with a planned launch in Europe next month — but few.
Until then, flexible displays will be visible in smaller, more modest designs such as smart security tags, shelf and food labels and loyalty cards with memory.
PARC, the storied research center that inspired many of the features in the original Macintosh computer, is tinkering with plastic memory, chips on consumer goods packaging, sensors on helmets, and more.
One project is a wearable patch with sensors to monitor a patient's heart rate, temperature and blood pressure. PARC is also looking at the concept of a flexible battery to save energy and space.
It all makes for an intriguing game of promise vs. patience.
Not every surface will be a display, but it could be. There are no barriers.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
In the film The Graduate, cynical young protagonist Benjamin Braddock is pulled aside by an elder with sage advice: "Just one word. … Plastics," he whispers. "There's a great future in plastics."
The line became part of Hollywood lore, underpinning the yawning gulf between the counterculture and the status quo.
But 45 years after it entered the American zeitgeist, the punch line is serious stuff for tech companies such as Samsung and Hewlett-Packard. Flexible-display technology, the pliable plastic casings that many predict will be the next iteration of laptops and tablets, is morphing into all sorts of cool gadgets of the near future.
In a few years, bendable displays will be everywhere, adorning coffee mugs, newspapers, car dashboards and sunroofs, white boards, backpacks, refrigerators — you name it. Within five years, every surface becomes a display.
The question, though, is when? And to what extent?
Flexible displays — computing screens that can be rolled, folded or flexed — can take the form of personal devices, such as an eReader, or larger surface displays, such as furniture or wallpaper.
Yet the flexible narrative has experienced fits and starts for years, and it still isn't likely to take hold until 2015.
The field is littered with noble failures and unfulfilled promises.
Philips Electronics spinoff Polymer Vision promoted its flexible eReader for years but declared bankruptcy before bringing the device to market. Hewlett-Packard has been developing printable Mylar displays that it imagines could be used for candy wrappers, armband computers for the military or living-room wallpaper, but the displays are still several years from commercialization.
The most likely scenario is that wildly popular tablets will be the first iteration of flexible technology.
Other emerging technology, such as wearables, embedded devices and mini-projectors, might catch on sooner when new manufacturing processes ramp up. Consumers would love to bend or fold devices. Rather than carry a phone and a tablet, you could unfold a large screen from your phone.
Any surface will do …
The promise of unbreakable, lightweight, non-glass displays has researchers and engineers at HP, Samsung and elsewhere toiling away in hopes of tapping into a potential gold mine.
Despite ups and downs, sales for flexible displays are expected to zoom to $8.2 billion in 2018 from $85 million in 2008.
Foldable technology is expected to take form in:
•Wristbands. HP is developing prototypes with the U.S. Army of a wristband for foot soldiers that is something out of the old Dick Tracy comic strip. HP also is huddling with the NFL about the possibility of an electronic wristband for quarterbacks to view and call plays.
Soldiers would be fitted with a bendable wristband that could also be sewn into their uniform's cuff. The small display could function as a combination Global Positioning System, shortwave radio and field manual for vehicle repairs. Such a device would significantly reduce the estimated 70 pounds of equipment typically lugged by soldiers, without sacrificing ruggedness.
A solar-powered wrist unit is set to undergo field testing by the military later this year.
The NFL could replace the balky helmet microphone now used with a plastic band for quarterbacks and defensive players to relay and view formations. The NFL had no comment.
Another possible use is digital bracelets for hospital patients, says Carl Taussig, director of HP Labs' Advanced Display Research.
•Kitchen counters. Microsoft's home of the future — think Ozzie and Harriet meets Futurama— is chock-full of digital displays, none more eye-catching than its kitchen counter.
The marble surface doubles as a display capable of input for ingredients and recipes. The graphics are beamed from an overhead projector, which could become a staple of homes within five years.
•Cars. Toyota showed a model at the Tokyo auto show late last year and the Detroit auto show this year that it described as a "smartphone on four wheels." In Tokyo, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda unfurled the Fun-Vii (vehicle interactive Internet), which lets drivers change the car's color — both exterior and interior. Flexible screens embedded in the car's body allow the Fun-Vii to display multiple colors.
•Buildings. Remember the dystopian city in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner with screens that show advertisements built into buildings?
NanoLumens designs and engineers large, energy-efficient LED displays for commercial use. Its flagship product is the world's first flexible LED screen that is 112 inches diagonal, an inch thick and only 80 pounds.
The NanoFlex product is used to show video on a curved wall at the NASCAR Museum in Charlotte. A NanoSlim product is installed at the Mac Cosmetics store in New York's SoHo neighborhood
The thin but durable screens are being tested for advertising use at trade shows and in subways and airports. You can pressure wash it and bounce a beer bottle off of it.
China, home to some of the world's largest buildings, is a prime candidate for even larger displays.
What are consequences, if any?
So what's wrong with this picture of a seemingly boundless market for flexible displays?
The immense promise is undercut by nagging issues, such as the difficulty in properly bending silicon-containing electronic components.
Costly, time-consuming manufacturing processes also remain a steep hurdle. There are plenty of obstacles, none more so than glass-based displays.
The ticklish task of laying electronic components on glass, stainless steel or plastic is a tricky, multiple-step process that can be pricey.
The industry will only achieve mass production at affordable prices when it makes the inevitable, and necessary, shift to roll-to-roll manufacturing — as is customary in the newspaper industry. And that's a few years away.
Germany-based PolyIC is making flexible touch-screens. Corning has shown flexible glass that can be used in roll-to-roll manufacturing, and a low-end display from Samsung is a prime candidate for such a process. E Ink, Plastic Logic, Infinite Power Solutions and Universal Display all are doing interesting things in the field, but it is a work in progress.
Bendable displays can be made, but mass manufacturing is the obstacle.
There have been advances — LG just announced it started mass production of its electronic paper display product, with a planned launch in Europe next month — but few.
Until then, flexible displays will be visible in smaller, more modest designs such as smart security tags, shelf and food labels and loyalty cards with memory.
PARC, the storied research center that inspired many of the features in the original Macintosh computer, is tinkering with plastic memory, chips on consumer goods packaging, sensors on helmets, and more.
One project is a wearable patch with sensors to monitor a patient's heart rate, temperature and blood pressure. PARC is also looking at the concept of a flexible battery to save energy and space.
It all makes for an intriguing game of promise vs. patience.
Not every surface will be a display, but it could be. There are no barriers.
For more national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
New Memory Chip Line Hurts Competition
Story first appeared on Reuters.
Samsung Electronics, the world's No.1 memory chip maker, said on Thursday it had started operations at a new memory chip line, a move that may further exacerbate semiconductor oversupply and hit smaller rivals.
The South Korean firm said the new line was the industry's largest and most advanced memory fabrication facility, producing chips with 20-nanometre class processing technology, which improves manufacturing costs by some 50 percent.
Lower line-widths processing technology allows more circuits on a chip, making them smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more energy efficient.
The new line comes as computer memory prices have fallen more than 30 percent over the past three months to below production costs due to faltering demand from computer makers.
Global shipments of computers are projected to grow only a low-to-mid single digit percent this year as consumers switch to more popular tablets and smartphones.
Samsung competes with local rival Hynix Semiconductor Inc, Japan's Elpida Memory Inc and Taiwan's Powerchip.
Smaller rivals are struggling with worsening profitability and bracing for a tough outlook as weak demand and falling prices force them to delay capital-intensive facility upgrades.
Elpida said last week it was considering shifting some production to Taiwan to cope with a currency near record highs and to survive in a dwindling market.
Samsung invested 12 trillion won ($10.4 billion) in construction of the new facility in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, since it started construction in May last year.
Samsung said it would also boost production of NAND-type flash memory chips to meet market demand. They currently do not sell Used NetVanta Routers.
Samsung Electronics, the world's No.1 memory chip maker, said on Thursday it had started operations at a new memory chip line, a move that may further exacerbate semiconductor oversupply and hit smaller rivals.
The South Korean firm said the new line was the industry's largest and most advanced memory fabrication facility, producing chips with 20-nanometre class processing technology, which improves manufacturing costs by some 50 percent.
Lower line-widths processing technology allows more circuits on a chip, making them smaller, cheaper, more powerful and more energy efficient.
The new line comes as computer memory prices have fallen more than 30 percent over the past three months to below production costs due to faltering demand from computer makers.
Global shipments of computers are projected to grow only a low-to-mid single digit percent this year as consumers switch to more popular tablets and smartphones.
Samsung competes with local rival Hynix Semiconductor Inc, Japan's Elpida Memory Inc and Taiwan's Powerchip.
Smaller rivals are struggling with worsening profitability and bracing for a tough outlook as weak demand and falling prices force them to delay capital-intensive facility upgrades.
Elpida said last week it was considering shifting some production to Taiwan to cope with a currency near record highs and to survive in a dwindling market.
Samsung invested 12 trillion won ($10.4 billion) in construction of the new facility in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, since it started construction in May last year.
Samsung said it would also boost production of NAND-type flash memory chips to meet market demand. They currently do not sell Used NetVanta Routers.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Fiercer Smartphone Battle on Tap for Handset Makers
Reuters
Cellphone vendors' views on sales during the year-end holiday season will be in focus when top handset makers report quarterly results, starting with Sony Ericsson on Friday.
The cellphone market overall is set to grow around 11 percent this year, led by smartphone sales which are expected to increase more than 50 percent as high-end focused vendors like Apple and HTC see a surge in demand.
Further increasing the rivalry at the high-end, Microsoft is starting its last-ditch attempt to stage a comeback with nine new phone models.
"We expect price erosion and margin pressures, which have characterized 2010, to intensify in the final quarter with an increased supply of high-tier devices," said Geoff Blaber, analyst with wireless research firm CCS Insight.
In the July-September quarter the cellphone market is forecast to grew 10.1 percent from a year ago, helped by recovering economies and boosted by strong growth in smartphones, a Reuters poll of 32 analysts showed.
Among top smartphone vendors, HTC and Research in Motion have already reported strong demand in the quarter.
"The big question mark here is European consumer demand, which may have been a bit muted in the August-September period," said Tero Kuittinen, analyst at MKM Partners.
MOST PROFITABLE
Helped by good demand for its new Google phones, Sony Ericsson, the world's fifth-largest handset vendor by volume, is expected say it sold 12 million phones in the September quarter, when it reports on October 15.
Google's Android phones also helped Taiwan's HTC Corp, the world's No. 4 smartphone brand, which reported a near doubling in third-quarter profit on October 6.
Apple, No 6 in volume but the most profitable handset maker, is expected to unveil sales of 11.5 million iPhones when it reports on October 18. Nokia, the volume leader, will report on October 21, and No 7 Motorola on October 28.
Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop will present results for the first time having taken the helm of the company last month. The group is expected to have sold 115 million phones in the quarter, growing slightly but losing some market share to Samsung Electronics and Apple.
Korean cellphone vendors Samsung and LG Electronics are due to report at the end of the month.
Samsung showed a strong recovery last quarter, driven by the success of its Galaxy S smartphone which sold more than 5 million units since its June launch. It last month raised its 2010 smartphone sales target to 25 million units from 18 million.
LG, however, is facing more challenging times ahead. It replaced its group CEO and named a new head for its loss-making telecoms division as it battles to turn around the struggling business.
Analysts expect it to post a record loss of between 300 billion Korean won ($265.5 million) and 380 billion in the quarter on mobile phone sales.
"It would be difficult for LG to make a quick turnaround as its products still lag the competition to a large extent," said Kim U-no, an analyst at Hanwha Securities.
"LG needs stronger lineup in the popular Android segment but it has no immediate rollouts planned. It'll be another disappointing quarter."
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Samsung Faces Weak Outlook on Flat-Screens, TV's
Reuters
Samsung Electronics Co's disappointing earnings guidance sparked slowdown worries as prices of its key products slide, hitting shares and ending the technology group's run of record quarterly performances.
The world's largest memory chipmaker, which has a tradition of beating even the most bullish estimates, faces a tough outlook as a fragile world economy has hit demand for TVs and computers.
The International Monetary Fund expects global growth to slow to 4.2 percent next year from a forecast of 4.8 percent for this this year, dragged by advanced economies.
Samsung, also the world's No.2 maker of mobile phones and the No.1 maker of LCDs, estimated its July-September operating profit and sales to come below market consensus.
"LCD (liquid crystal display) and TV performance appears to be worse than expected and the downward pressure on earnings will only grow as chip prices are also falling and TV makers increase price cuts," said Chung Young-woo, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities.
"Usual uptick in seasonal year-end demand will be smaller this time and an earnings recovery is unlikely until early next year."
Samsung, the first major global technology firm to flag preliminary September quarter results, might set the benchmark for technology investors with Intel and Advanced Micro Devices reporting numbers next week.
Samsung has performed strongly over chip rival Micron and held on to its No. 1 slot in TVs against Sony Corp and Panasonic.
SHARES UNDERPERFORM
Shares in Samsung, Asia's most valuable technology firm worth $116 billion, closed 2.9 percent lower, lagging a 0.2 percent drop in Korea's KOSPI .KS11.
Samsung, worth three times more than No.1 handset maker Nokia and its key TV rival Sony, dropped 1 percent this year to Wednesday's close, underperforming KOSPI's 13 percent rise.
"Earnings will slide further but the stock is looking attractive as the slowdown is already priced in and Samsung will benefit most from any demand recovery, being the No.1 in many areas," said Jung Sang-jin, a fund manager at Dongbu Asset Management.
Jung has been increasing Samsung shares to the company's portfolio since last week.
After a weak start, Samsung is challenging Apple Inc with its Galaxy S high-end smartphone, powered by Google's Android software. It has sold more than 5 million units since its June launch.
Samsung is also launching its Galaxy Tab tablet, seen by analysts as the strongest rival to Apple's iPad so far.
The heavy investment highlights an aggressive push toward new technology by Lee Kun-hee, who returned as Samsung chairman in March.
Samsung has benefited from strong demand from China and as improved corporate spending boosted sales of memory chips and flat screens, but smartphone sales stayed weak.
"It looks like Samsung will face more downside in the fourth quarter and into the first quarter of next year in terms of sales, said Michael On, managing director at Beyond Asset Management in Taipei.
On Thursday, Samsung estimated its third-quarter operating profit at a median 4.8 trillion won ($4.3 billion) of 4.6 and 5.0 trillion won range, lower than a consensus forecast of 5.2 trillion won polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
That would be down 4 percent from the previous record of 5 trillion won in the preceding quarter but up 14 percent from the 4.2 trillion won reported a year ago. Samsung reports quarterly results in late October.
Sales were estimated at 40 trillion won versus consensus of 42 trillion. Profit from its chips division is set to account for nearly 70 percent of Samsung's total profit in the third quarter.
CHIP PRICES FALL
Analysts forecast Samsung's profit to shrink to around 4 trillion won in the current quarter and stay around that level till the second quarter of next year due to weak prices of chips and flat screens.
Dynamic random access memory prices, mainly used in computers, have fallen more than 20 percent from its peak in May and may drop another 20 percent this quarter, as PC sales growth has declined.
A wobbly global economy is also hitting sales of TVs, discount computers and laptops, which together account for the majority of large-sized LCD panels, and investors are now worried demand could slow further as China tightens its economic policy.
Most analysts expect Samsung's LCD profit margins to fall further to around break-even level in the fourth quarter from an estimated 4 percent in the third quarter.
Its TV division faces increased competition and weak demand might force it to slash prices and hit sales of premium products such as LED-backlit LCD models and 3D sets.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
NY Official claims LCD Suppliers Fixed Prices
Associated Press
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Friday sued several major suppliers of liquid crystal display screens used in computers, televisions and cell phones, claiming buyers paid extra because of a decade of price fixing.
Some of the companies settled earlier, similar federal charges.
The suit filed in state court in Manhattan seeks damages and restitution to state and local governments along with penalties for actions from 1996 to 2006 by companies in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
Defendants are Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp., Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Displays Ltd., LG Display Co. Ltd., AU Optronics Corp., Chi Mei Corp., CMO Japan Co. Ltd., and U.S. affiliates. They are accused of selling display screens at illegally fixed prices to companies including Dell and IBM - vendors that sold computers to public entities in New York, including the state government, counties, municipalities, colleges, hospitals, transit agencies and fire departments.
Cuomo claims the cartel dominated the $70 billion market, and top officials from the companies met regularly.
"As a result, hard-pressed New York cities, towns, schools and hospitals spent hundreds of millions of dollars on LCD screens affected by the illegal conspiracy. My office is bringing this case to get those illegal overcharges back," he said.
Damages are in the tens of millions of dollars, Cuomo spokesman Matt Glazer said.
Many cartel members and executives have pleaded guilty to federal criminal antitrust violations and paid more than $890 million in fines, according to the suit.
"The state purchasers on whose behalf this action is brought - and the taxpayers whose dollars financed those purchases - have suffered substantial damages stemming from defendants' unlawful conspiracy," the suit claimed.
Under state antitrust laws, the attorney general's office requested treble damages, civil penalties, costs and "other equitable relief for the harm inflicted."
Samsung, Toshiba and Hitachi declined to make any immediate comment. Calls and e-mails to the other companies were not immediately returned Friday.
Some of the companies settled earlier, similar federal charges.
The suit filed in state court in Manhattan seeks damages and restitution to state and local governments along with penalties for actions from 1996 to 2006 by companies in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
Defendants are Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sharp Corp., Toshiba Corp., Hitachi Displays Ltd., LG Display Co. Ltd., AU Optronics Corp., Chi Mei Corp., CMO Japan Co. Ltd., and U.S. affiliates. They are accused of selling display screens at illegally fixed prices to companies including Dell and IBM - vendors that sold computers to public entities in New York, including the state government, counties, municipalities, colleges, hospitals, transit agencies and fire departments.
Cuomo claims the cartel dominated the $70 billion market, and top officials from the companies met regularly.
"As a result, hard-pressed New York cities, towns, schools and hospitals spent hundreds of millions of dollars on LCD screens affected by the illegal conspiracy. My office is bringing this case to get those illegal overcharges back," he said.
Damages are in the tens of millions of dollars, Cuomo spokesman Matt Glazer said.
Many cartel members and executives have pleaded guilty to federal criminal antitrust violations and paid more than $890 million in fines, according to the suit.
"The state purchasers on whose behalf this action is brought - and the taxpayers whose dollars financed those purchases - have suffered substantial damages stemming from defendants' unlawful conspiracy," the suit claimed.
Under state antitrust laws, the attorney general's office requested treble damages, civil penalties, costs and "other equitable relief for the harm inflicted."
Samsung, Toshiba and Hitachi declined to make any immediate comment. Calls and e-mails to the other companies were not immediately returned Friday.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Samsung Forecasts Record 2Q Operating Profit
Associated Press
Samsung Electronics Co. forecast Wednesday that operating profit rose to a record high in the second quarter on what analysts said were strong sales of computer memory chips and liquid crystal displays.
The Suwon, South Korea-based company said it expects consolidated operating profit of between 4.8 trillion won and 5.2 trillion won ($4.2 billion) for the three months ended June 30, according to a statement. That would beat the company's previous all-time high of 4.41 trillion won set in the first quarter.
Samsung, a major force in the global electronics industry, is the world's biggest seller of computer memory chips, liquid crystal displays and flat-screen televisions. It ranks No. 2 in mobile phone handsets after Finland's Nokia Corp.
The company gave no reason for the quarterly performance and will formally announce second-quarter earnings at the end of this month, according to spokesman Jason Kim .
Samsung does not release net profit forecasts. The company recorded net profit of 2.25 trillion won in the second quarter of 2009, a figure based on South Korean accounting standards, according to spokesman James Chung. Samsung adopted international financial reporting standards, or IFRS, from the first quarter of this year.
Lee Min-hee, an analyst at Dongbu Securities in Seoul, forecast that Samsung will record second-quarter net profit of 4.2 trillion won.
Operating profit is seen as a direct indicator of business performance before taxes, dividends, asset sales and other items that are figured into net profit or loss.
Analysts said Samsung benefited in the second quarter from strong sales of liquid crystal displays as well as DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, chips used mostly in personal computers. Seo Won-seok, of NH Investment & Securities in Seoul, estimated that the company's DRAM profit margin exceeded 40 percent.
The outlook for extending its record operating profit performance the rest of this year was uncertain.
"Many investors doubt that this trend is sustainable in the second half as the global economy slows down," said Lee of Dongbu Securities.
Samsung began issuing earnings estimates, or guidance, last year in hopes increased transparency would help minimize market speculation over its performance. The estimates include the performance of its overseas and domestic subsidiaries.
Samsung estimated consolidated sales of between 36 trillion won and 38 trillion won for the second quarter. That compares with sales of 32.51 trillion won a year earlier, a figure Samsung recalculated to conform with IFRS.
The company said in May it would invest a record 26 trillion won this year in capital spending and research and development as it bets on future growth, despite questions about the global economic outlook. Samsung said investment in new production facilities meant it expects to hire 10,000 new workers this year.
Shares in Samsung fell 0.8 percent to close at 769,000 won Wednesday. The company's stock price surged 77 percent in 2009.
The Suwon, South Korea-based company said it expects consolidated operating profit of between 4.8 trillion won and 5.2 trillion won ($4.2 billion) for the three months ended June 30, according to a statement. That would beat the company's previous all-time high of 4.41 trillion won set in the first quarter.
Samsung, a major force in the global electronics industry, is the world's biggest seller of computer memory chips, liquid crystal displays and flat-screen televisions. It ranks No. 2 in mobile phone handsets after Finland's Nokia Corp.
The company gave no reason for the quarterly performance and will formally announce second-quarter earnings at the end of this month, according to spokesman Jason Kim .
Samsung does not release net profit forecasts. The company recorded net profit of 2.25 trillion won in the second quarter of 2009, a figure based on South Korean accounting standards, according to spokesman James Chung. Samsung adopted international financial reporting standards, or IFRS, from the first quarter of this year.
Lee Min-hee, an analyst at Dongbu Securities in Seoul, forecast that Samsung will record second-quarter net profit of 4.2 trillion won.
Operating profit is seen as a direct indicator of business performance before taxes, dividends, asset sales and other items that are figured into net profit or loss.
Analysts said Samsung benefited in the second quarter from strong sales of liquid crystal displays as well as DRAM, or dynamic random access memory, chips used mostly in personal computers. Seo Won-seok, of NH Investment & Securities in Seoul, estimated that the company's DRAM profit margin exceeded 40 percent.
The outlook for extending its record operating profit performance the rest of this year was uncertain.
"Many investors doubt that this trend is sustainable in the second half as the global economy slows down," said Lee of Dongbu Securities.
Samsung began issuing earnings estimates, or guidance, last year in hopes increased transparency would help minimize market speculation over its performance. The estimates include the performance of its overseas and domestic subsidiaries.
Samsung estimated consolidated sales of between 36 trillion won and 38 trillion won for the second quarter. That compares with sales of 32.51 trillion won a year earlier, a figure Samsung recalculated to conform with IFRS.
The company said in May it would invest a record 26 trillion won this year in capital spending and research and development as it bets on future growth, despite questions about the global economic outlook. Samsung said investment in new production facilities meant it expects to hire 10,000 new workers this year.
Shares in Samsung fell 0.8 percent to close at 769,000 won Wednesday. The company's stock price surged 77 percent in 2009.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Samsung Electronics Aims to Double Its Smartphone Share in Fourth Quarter
Bloomberg
Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s second-largest mobile-phone maker, aims to more than double its share of the smartphone market, helped by the introduction of its Galaxy S model.
Samsung intends to raise its market share for smartphones to more than 10 percent in the fourth quarter from its current level of less than 5 percent, Lee Donjoo, senior vice president of company’s Mobile Communications Division, said in an interview in Seoul yesterday.
A 10 percent market share may lift Samsung’s ranking among smartphone makers to fourth from fifth, surpassing Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC Corp., which had a 7 percent share in the fourth quarter of 2009 according to an April 20 CLSA Ltd. report. Nokia Oyj, the largest smartphone maker has a 40 percent share. Global sales of smartphones will rise 36 percent to 247 million handsets in 2010, research firm ISuppli Corp. said in April.
“Samsung may easily meet the target as the handset market is sharply transferring to smartphones and the hardware features of the Galaxy S are pretty competitive in the market,” said Lee Sun Tae, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities Co. Ltd. in Seoul.
Samsung is now “more optimistic” about its 2010 smartphone battery sales, which may exceed initial targets, Lee said. “The market response to the Galaxy S from Europe is good,” he said, without elaborating.
Shipment Target
The Galaxy S, which runs on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, went on sale last week in some European countries. The phone has a 4-inch display screen, bigger than the iPhone’s 3.5- inch screen, as well as an e-book reader, a 5-megapixel camera, a high-definition video recorder and player, and a top of the line cell phone battery, according to the company’s website. About 110 mobile operators around the world will offer the phone, Lee said.
Samsung, which shipped 227 million mobile phones and mobile phone batteries in 2009, said Feb. 4 it aims to triple shipments of smartphones this year from 6 million, without providing specific figures.
Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung dropped 1.8 percent to 815,000 won as of 10:12 a.m. Seoul time. The benchmark Kospi index fell 0.7 percent.
Samsung plans to offer a tablet computer, to be called the Galaxy Tab, in the third quarter, Lee said, without giving details of the operating system or laptop battery type.
Samsung intends to raise its market share for smartphones to more than 10 percent in the fourth quarter from its current level of less than 5 percent, Lee Donjoo, senior vice president of company’s Mobile Communications Division, said in an interview in Seoul yesterday.
A 10 percent market share may lift Samsung’s ranking among smartphone makers to fourth from fifth, surpassing Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC Corp., which had a 7 percent share in the fourth quarter of 2009 according to an April 20 CLSA Ltd. report. Nokia Oyj, the largest smartphone maker has a 40 percent share. Global sales of smartphones will rise 36 percent to 247 million handsets in 2010, research firm ISuppli Corp. said in April.
“Samsung may easily meet the target as the handset market is sharply transferring to smartphones and the hardware features of the Galaxy S are pretty competitive in the market,” said Lee Sun Tae, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities Co. Ltd. in Seoul.
Samsung is now “more optimistic” about its 2010 smartphone battery sales, which may exceed initial targets, Lee said. “The market response to the Galaxy S from Europe is good,” he said, without elaborating.
Shipment Target
The Galaxy S, which runs on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, went on sale last week in some European countries. The phone has a 4-inch display screen, bigger than the iPhone’s 3.5- inch screen, as well as an e-book reader, a 5-megapixel camera, a high-definition video recorder and player, and a top of the line cell phone battery, according to the company’s website. About 110 mobile operators around the world will offer the phone, Lee said.
Samsung, which shipped 227 million mobile phones and mobile phone batteries in 2009, said Feb. 4 it aims to triple shipments of smartphones this year from 6 million, without providing specific figures.
Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung dropped 1.8 percent to 815,000 won as of 10:12 a.m. Seoul time. The benchmark Kospi index fell 0.7 percent.
Samsung plans to offer a tablet computer, to be called the Galaxy Tab, in the third quarter, Lee said, without giving details of the operating system or laptop battery type.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Samsung to Release its Fastest 512GM Notebook SSD
Computer World
It claims the drive boots nine times faster than hard disk drives
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. next month plans to begin shipping its first solid-state drive (SSD) to use toggle-mode DDR (double data rate) NAND to achieve higher performance for laptops and high-end PCs.
The new 512GB drive has a maximum data read rate of 250MB/sec. and a sequential write rate of 220MB/sec.
"At these speeds, two standard length (approximately 4GB each) DVD movies can be stored in just a minute," Samsung said in a statement today.
By comparison, Intel's X25-M consumer-class SSD has a sequential read speed of 250MB/sec and a write speed of 70MB/sec., according to the company's specifications sheet.
Intel interleaves 10 parallel NAND flash channels to achieves its high performance, along with Native Command Queuing, which enable up to 32 concurrent operations on discount notebooks.
According to Gregory Wong, an analyst with market research firm Forward Insights, Samsung's toggle mode NAND uses a synchronous interface as opposed to an asynchronous interface of standard NAND, thereby permitting a higher bandwidth.
"In order to achieve the performance, they don't need to run as many chips in parallel so there should be power savings," he said. "They're limited by the SATA 3Gbit/sec interface so they can't get much faster. If they went to SATA 6Gbit/sec, then it'd be much faster."
Samsung is using a 30-nanometer (nm) lithography technology to develop NAND flash chips with 32Gbit capacity that are combined to achieve the high overall capacity of the drive.
Samsung said it has gained power efficiency through its new controller, specifically for toggle-mode DDR NAND. The resulting power throttling capability enables allows for high performance without any increase in power consumption over the 40nm-class 16Gbit chip NAND-based 256GB SSD it has sold previously.
Samsung said the new SSD will deliver faster OS boot time and application access, "showing an approximately nine-fold improvement in random performance over hard disk drive."
The new 512GB SSD comes native with 256bit AES data encryption algorithm for security. The drive also takes advantage of Windows 7's TRIM feature, which allows the operating system to tell an SSD which data blocks are no longer in use so that it will not waste time attempting to access them.
The new controller also analyzes frequency of use and preferences of the user to automatically activate a low-power mode that can extend laptop computer battery life for an hour or more, the company said.
Dong-Soo Jun, executive vice president of memory marketing for Samsung Electronics, said the "state-of-the-art toggle DDR" technology "will enable Samsung to play a major role in securing faster market acceptance of the new wave of high-end SSD technology."
The new 512GB drive has a maximum data read rate of 250MB/sec. and a sequential write rate of 220MB/sec.
"At these speeds, two standard length (approximately 4GB each) DVD movies can be stored in just a minute," Samsung said in a statement today.
By comparison, Intel's X25-M consumer-class SSD has a sequential read speed of 250MB/sec and a write speed of 70MB/sec., according to the company's specifications sheet.
Intel interleaves 10 parallel NAND flash channels to achieves its high performance, along with Native Command Queuing, which enable up to 32 concurrent operations on discount notebooks.
According to Gregory Wong, an analyst with market research firm Forward Insights, Samsung's toggle mode NAND uses a synchronous interface as opposed to an asynchronous interface of standard NAND, thereby permitting a higher bandwidth.
"In order to achieve the performance, they don't need to run as many chips in parallel so there should be power savings," he said. "They're limited by the SATA 3Gbit/sec interface so they can't get much faster. If they went to SATA 6Gbit/sec, then it'd be much faster."
Samsung is using a 30-nanometer (nm) lithography technology to develop NAND flash chips with 32Gbit capacity that are combined to achieve the high overall capacity of the drive.
Samsung said it has gained power efficiency through its new controller, specifically for toggle-mode DDR NAND. The resulting power throttling capability enables allows for high performance without any increase in power consumption over the 40nm-class 16Gbit chip NAND-based 256GB SSD it has sold previously.
Samsung said the new SSD will deliver faster OS boot time and application access, "showing an approximately nine-fold improvement in random performance over hard disk drive."
The new 512GB SSD comes native with 256bit AES data encryption algorithm for security. The drive also takes advantage of Windows 7's TRIM feature, which allows the operating system to tell an SSD which data blocks are no longer in use so that it will not waste time attempting to access them.
The new controller also analyzes frequency of use and preferences of the user to automatically activate a low-power mode that can extend laptop computer battery life for an hour or more, the company said.
Dong-Soo Jun, executive vice president of memory marketing for Samsung Electronics, said the "state-of-the-art toggle DDR" technology "will enable Samsung to play a major role in securing faster market acceptance of the new wave of high-end SSD technology."
Monday, May 17, 2010
Samsung Plans Record Investments to Widen Lead in Chips, LCDs
Bloomberg
Samsung Electronics Co. plans to outspend Intel Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Sony Corp. combined to widen its lead as the world’s largest maker of memory chips and flat-panel displays.
Capital expenditure will jump to 18 trillion won ($15.6 billion) this year from 8 trillion won in 2009, Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics said in a statement today. Including research and development, spending will increase to 26 trillion won, it said.
The largest spending budget in the technology industry may help Samsung build on its market lead and force smaller competitors to boost investments to keep up. Samsung’s purchases may be a boon for equipment makers including Applied Materials Inc. as the industry recovers from the global recession.
“I believe this massive amount of spending during tough times will cement Samsung’s leadership,” said Kim Young Joon, who oversees $932 million of stocks at NH-CA Asset Management in Seoul as head of equity investment, including Samsung shares. “The investments could pressure competitors to follow suit, which could be a burden for smaller rivals that aren’t as financially strong as Samsung.”
Samsung fell 3.2 percent to close at 784,000 won on the Korea Exchange, compared with the benchmark Kospi index’s 2.6 percent decline.
‘Substantial’ Increase
Samsung, which said last month it would “substantially” increase its 2010 spending budget, plans to invest 9 trillion won in the memory-chip business, compared with an earlier budget of 5.5 trillion won. Spending on liquid-crystal displays will rise to 5 trillion won from 3 trillion won, it said.
Investments for semiconductors will include a new production line for memory chips and adding capacity to an existing manufacturing facility, Samsung said. The company also plans to build a new production line for LCDs on so-called eighth-generation technology to meet rising demand.
Today’s decision “was made to address indications of improving market conditions throughout the global consumer electronics and IT industries, while further strengthening Samsung’s leadership in memory semiconductors and LCD panels,” Samsung said in the statement.
Samsung, which had about 20 trillion won in cash, equivalents and short-term investments at the end of March, is able to spend “aggressively” compared with rivals who are still recovering from the industry’s three-year slump, according to Lee Sun Tae, a Seoul-based analyst at Meritz Securities Co.
Return to Profit
The computer-memory chip industry posted net losses for 10 consecutive quarters before returning to a profit last year, El Segundo, California-based researcher, ISuppli Corp. said this month. Weaker demand amid the economic downturn prompted manufacturers to cut production and investment plans, helping ease the industry glut.
Samsung posted losses at its semiconductor division in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the following three-month period after chip prices declined. That compared with seven consecutive quarterly losses for Hynix between 2007 and 2009 and Micron’s three years of losses.
Samsung said last month it would “substantially” increase spending in 2010 after first-quarter net income jumped almost sevenfold to a record.
Samsung’s investment in chip-making technology has helped the company reduce manufacturing costs and make faster semiconductors. Demand for personal computers, projected to increase 20 percent this year by researcher Gartner Inc., is also driving up computer-memory prices.
“Distributed Unevenly”
“The benefits of the current up-cycle will be distributed unevenly as the gap between first tiers and second tiers has widened, in terms of both capability to add capacity and technology,” Chung Chang Won, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc., wrote in a report last month.
Samsung had a 32.3 percent share of the global dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, market in the first quarter, compared with second-ranked Hynix’s 21.5 percent, according to Dramexchange Technology Inc., operator of Asia’s biggest spot market for semiconductors. Japan’s Elpida Memory Inc. had a 17.4 percent share, while Micron had 14.1 percent.
While investment by computer-memory chipmakers will almost double to $8.4 billion this year, it’s still 32 percent less than 2008, according to Taipei-based Dramexchange.
Don’t Have Potential
Samsung’s spending isn’t a sign that the market “is going to fall apart,” according to Song Myung Sup, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities Co. “If the smaller companies join and increase investment together, then that can be a danger signal. But right now, the others don’t seem to have the potential.”
Global revenue for DRAM, which temporarily holds data and helps computer processors run multiple programs simultaneously, will probably climb 40 percent to $31.9 billion this year, ISuppli Corp. said in February.
Samsung, the world’s largest LCD maker, is also boosting spending for the flat screens to meet rising demand. LG Display Co., the second-largest, last month raised its budget by about 38 percent to 5.5 trillion won for 2010.
Global shipments of LCD TVs may rise 24 percent to more than 180 million units in 2010, Austin, Texas-based DisplaySearch said in March.
Samsung in April forecast profit, which exceeded that of rival, iPhone-maker Apple, in the latest quarter, will probably rise in the current period on sales of chips, flat-screens, TVs and mobile phones.
Analysts predict Samsung’s earnings growth will probably extend until the third quarter, while higher memory-chip and flat-panel prices will help the company post record profit in 2010.
Capital expenditure will jump to 18 trillion won ($15.6 billion) this year from 8 trillion won in 2009, Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics said in a statement today. Including research and development, spending will increase to 26 trillion won, it said.
The largest spending budget in the technology industry may help Samsung build on its market lead and force smaller competitors to boost investments to keep up. Samsung’s purchases may be a boon for equipment makers including Applied Materials Inc. as the industry recovers from the global recession.
“I believe this massive amount of spending during tough times will cement Samsung’s leadership,” said Kim Young Joon, who oversees $932 million of stocks at NH-CA Asset Management in Seoul as head of equity investment, including Samsung shares. “The investments could pressure competitors to follow suit, which could be a burden for smaller rivals that aren’t as financially strong as Samsung.”
Samsung fell 3.2 percent to close at 784,000 won on the Korea Exchange, compared with the benchmark Kospi index’s 2.6 percent decline.
‘Substantial’ Increase
Samsung, which said last month it would “substantially” increase its 2010 spending budget, plans to invest 9 trillion won in the memory-chip business, compared with an earlier budget of 5.5 trillion won. Spending on liquid-crystal displays will rise to 5 trillion won from 3 trillion won, it said.
Investments for semiconductors will include a new production line for memory chips and adding capacity to an existing manufacturing facility, Samsung said. The company also plans to build a new production line for LCDs on so-called eighth-generation technology to meet rising demand.
Today’s decision “was made to address indications of improving market conditions throughout the global consumer electronics and IT industries, while further strengthening Samsung’s leadership in memory semiconductors and LCD panels,” Samsung said in the statement.
Samsung, which had about 20 trillion won in cash, equivalents and short-term investments at the end of March, is able to spend “aggressively” compared with rivals who are still recovering from the industry’s three-year slump, according to Lee Sun Tae, a Seoul-based analyst at Meritz Securities Co.
Return to Profit
The computer-memory chip industry posted net losses for 10 consecutive quarters before returning to a profit last year, El Segundo, California-based researcher, ISuppli Corp. said this month. Weaker demand amid the economic downturn prompted manufacturers to cut production and investment plans, helping ease the industry glut.
Samsung posted losses at its semiconductor division in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the following three-month period after chip prices declined. That compared with seven consecutive quarterly losses for Hynix between 2007 and 2009 and Micron’s three years of losses.
Samsung said last month it would “substantially” increase spending in 2010 after first-quarter net income jumped almost sevenfold to a record.
Samsung’s investment in chip-making technology has helped the company reduce manufacturing costs and make faster semiconductors. Demand for personal computers, projected to increase 20 percent this year by researcher Gartner Inc., is also driving up computer-memory prices.
“Distributed Unevenly”
“The benefits of the current up-cycle will be distributed unevenly as the gap between first tiers and second tiers has widened, in terms of both capability to add capacity and technology,” Chung Chang Won, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc., wrote in a report last month.
Samsung had a 32.3 percent share of the global dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, market in the first quarter, compared with second-ranked Hynix’s 21.5 percent, according to Dramexchange Technology Inc., operator of Asia’s biggest spot market for semiconductors. Japan’s Elpida Memory Inc. had a 17.4 percent share, while Micron had 14.1 percent.
While investment by computer-memory chipmakers will almost double to $8.4 billion this year, it’s still 32 percent less than 2008, according to Taipei-based Dramexchange.
Don’t Have Potential
Samsung’s spending isn’t a sign that the market “is going to fall apart,” according to Song Myung Sup, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities Co. “If the smaller companies join and increase investment together, then that can be a danger signal. But right now, the others don’t seem to have the potential.”
Global revenue for DRAM, which temporarily holds data and helps computer processors run multiple programs simultaneously, will probably climb 40 percent to $31.9 billion this year, ISuppli Corp. said in February.
Samsung, the world’s largest LCD maker, is also boosting spending for the flat screens to meet rising demand. LG Display Co., the second-largest, last month raised its budget by about 38 percent to 5.5 trillion won for 2010.
Global shipments of LCD TVs may rise 24 percent to more than 180 million units in 2010, Austin, Texas-based DisplaySearch said in March.
Samsung in April forecast profit, which exceeded that of rival, iPhone-maker Apple, in the latest quarter, will probably rise in the current period on sales of chips, flat-screens, TVs and mobile phones.
Analysts predict Samsung’s earnings growth will probably extend until the third quarter, while higher memory-chip and flat-panel prices will help the company post record profit in 2010.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Samsung, Panasonic Start Selling 3-D TVs this Week
NEW YORK (AP) - Want to be the first one on your block with a 3-D television? It will cost you about $3,000.
Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what manufacturers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room. But because the sets require bulky glasses, and there is for now little to watch in the enhanced format, it will take at least a few years for the technology to become mainstream, if that happens at all.
Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what manufacturers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room. But because the sets require bulky glasses, and there is for now little to watch in the enhanced format, it will take at least a few years for the technology to become mainstream, if that happens at all.
Samsung Electronics Co. announced Tuesday that it is selling two 3-D sets this week. For $3,000, buyers get a 46-inch set, two pairs of glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player.
Panasonic Corp. has said it will start selling 3-D sets Wednesday.
The sales debut comes as moviegoers have shown considerable enthusiasm for the latest wave of 3-D titles in the theater. Last weekend, "Alice in Wonderland" grossed an estimated $116.2 million at the box office, beating the first-weekend receipts of "Avatar," the winter's 3-D blockbuster.
Although it's clear that 3-D sets for the home will appeal to technology and home-theater enthusiasts, it remains to be seen whether other consumers will be enticed to spend at least $500 above the price of a comparably sized standard TV and Blu-ray player.
TV makers hope so, because sets with the last big technological improvement - high definition - have come way down in price, below $500.
One challenge will be that the 3-D effect requires viewers to wear relatively bulky battery-operated glasses that need to be recharged occasionally. They are not like the cheap throwaways that have been used in theaters since the 1950s.
When you're wearing these 3-D TV glasses, room lights and computer screens may look like they're flickering, making it difficult to combine 3-D viewing with other household activities. Anyone who's not wearing the glasses when the set is in 3-D mode will see a blurry screen. (The sets can be used in 2-D mode as well, with no glasses required.)
To give buyers something to watch, Samsung is including a 3-D copy of "Monsters vs. Aliens" on Blu-ray disc with its packages, in a deal with the studio, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Its CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, said it will convert its "Shrek" movies to 3-D for Samsung TV buyers later this year.
"We continue to see this amazing level of enthusiasm and excitement for 3-D. The rate of adoption for this into the cinema has been a rocket ship these last couple of months," Katzenberg said in an interview.
Sets with 3-D-capability have been available for a few years from Mitsubishi Corp. But 3-D for the home is now coming together as a complete package with the arrival of more 3-D television models, as well as 3-D video players that run on battery and 3-D movies.
But there's still a notable lack of 3-D material to watch.
Panasonic Corp. has said it will start selling 3-D sets Wednesday.
The sales debut comes as moviegoers have shown considerable enthusiasm for the latest wave of 3-D titles in the theater. Last weekend, "Alice in Wonderland" grossed an estimated $116.2 million at the box office, beating the first-weekend receipts of "Avatar," the winter's 3-D blockbuster.
Although it's clear that 3-D sets for the home will appeal to technology and home-theater enthusiasts, it remains to be seen whether other consumers will be enticed to spend at least $500 above the price of a comparably sized standard TV and Blu-ray player.
TV makers hope so, because sets with the last big technological improvement - high definition - have come way down in price, below $500.
One challenge will be that the 3-D effect requires viewers to wear relatively bulky battery-operated glasses that need to be recharged occasionally. They are not like the cheap throwaways that have been used in theaters since the 1950s.
When you're wearing these 3-D TV glasses, room lights and computer screens may look like they're flickering, making it difficult to combine 3-D viewing with other household activities. Anyone who's not wearing the glasses when the set is in 3-D mode will see a blurry screen. (The sets can be used in 2-D mode as well, with no glasses required.)
To give buyers something to watch, Samsung is including a 3-D copy of "Monsters vs. Aliens" on Blu-ray disc with its packages, in a deal with the studio, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Its CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, said it will convert its "Shrek" movies to 3-D for Samsung TV buyers later this year.
"We continue to see this amazing level of enthusiasm and excitement for 3-D. The rate of adoption for this into the cinema has been a rocket ship these last couple of months," Katzenberg said in an interview.
Sets with 3-D-capability have been available for a few years from Mitsubishi Corp. But 3-D for the home is now coming together as a complete package with the arrival of more 3-D television models, as well as 3-D video players that run on battery and 3-D movies.
But there's still a notable lack of 3-D material to watch.
Eventually, sports and other programming that will benefit from a more immersive experience should be offered in 3-D. ESPN has said it will start a channel that will broadcast live events using the technology, starting with FIFA World Cup soccer in June. The sets could also be used for 3-D video games, when game consoles catch up to the new technology.
Samsung, the world's largest maker of TVs, has high hopes for 3-D. Tim Baxter, head of the company's U.S. electronics division, said he expects 3-D systems to be in 3 million to 4 million of the 35 million TV sets sold in the U.S. this year by all manufacturers.
Research firm iSuppli Corp. puts the figure at 4.2 million units globally this year. It expects the numbers to ramp quickly, to 12.9 million next year and 27 million in 2012. For comparison, there were more than 210 million TVs sold worldwide year.
Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling 3-D televisions in June. U.S. prices were not revealed, but the sets will cost $3,200 and up in Japan. The company hopes that 10 percent of the TVs it sells in the next fiscal year will be 3-D units.
Sony also plans to issue software upgrades for its PlayStation 3 game consoles and some of its Blu-ray players so they will be able to play 3-D discs.
Panasonic has not revealed what its sets will cost. It's taking a slightly different tack than Samsung, by introducing 3-D only on plasma screens, for maximum image quality. And rather than selling 3-D sets broadly, it's going only through Best Buy Inc.'s Magnolia Home Theater stores.
Samsung's two new sets will be followed by another 13 3-D-capable models in the next two months. Soon, 3-D packages with plasma sets will be available for about $2,000, Baxter said.
ISuppli analyst Randy Lawson said it's a fairly simple, inexpensive move for manufacturers to modify their high-end sets to be 3-D-capable. That's part of the reason iSuppli expects a quick increase in sales of such 3-D TVs. Whether people will use the feature is another matter, he said.
Consumers should be more interested in the ability to connect the TV to the Internet, Lawson said. That feature, which started showing up last year and requires little more technology on a daily basis than a good TV remote control battery, is more immediately useful, because it gives access to a vast array of online movies and TV shows.
"I don't believe that everyone will be watching 3-D all the time in two to three years," he said. "I don't think it will be a predominant" concern among average consumers.
Samsung, the world's largest maker of TVs, has high hopes for 3-D. Tim Baxter, head of the company's U.S. electronics division, said he expects 3-D systems to be in 3 million to 4 million of the 35 million TV sets sold in the U.S. this year by all manufacturers.
Research firm iSuppli Corp. puts the figure at 4.2 million units globally this year. It expects the numbers to ramp quickly, to 12.9 million next year and 27 million in 2012. For comparison, there were more than 210 million TVs sold worldwide year.
Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will start selling 3-D televisions in June. U.S. prices were not revealed, but the sets will cost $3,200 and up in Japan. The company hopes that 10 percent of the TVs it sells in the next fiscal year will be 3-D units.
Sony also plans to issue software upgrades for its PlayStation 3 game consoles and some of its Blu-ray players so they will be able to play 3-D discs.
Panasonic has not revealed what its sets will cost. It's taking a slightly different tack than Samsung, by introducing 3-D only on plasma screens, for maximum image quality. And rather than selling 3-D sets broadly, it's going only through Best Buy Inc.'s Magnolia Home Theater stores.
Samsung's two new sets will be followed by another 13 3-D-capable models in the next two months. Soon, 3-D packages with plasma sets will be available for about $2,000, Baxter said.
ISuppli analyst Randy Lawson said it's a fairly simple, inexpensive move for manufacturers to modify their high-end sets to be 3-D-capable. That's part of the reason iSuppli expects a quick increase in sales of such 3-D TVs. Whether people will use the feature is another matter, he said.
Consumers should be more interested in the ability to connect the TV to the Internet, Lawson said. That feature, which started showing up last year and requires little more technology on a daily basis than a good TV remote control battery, is more immediately useful, because it gives access to a vast array of online movies and TV shows.
"I don't believe that everyone will be watching 3-D all the time in two to three years," he said. "I don't think it will be a predominant" concern among average consumers.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Samsung Prepares App Store For European Phone Owners
Samsung plans to open its first app store
By The Wall Street Journal
Samsung today announced it's preparing an online app store for its Omnia smart phone, setting high expectations for future smart phone launches.
Following the success of the Apple App Store, handset manufacturers are launching online stores so phone owners can download custom programs for smartphones. Furthermore, it's a good way for independent developers to help the community while also cashing in on revenue sharing with manufacturers.
Samsung will include 300 apps at launch for phone owners in the United Kingdom, France and 30 other nations across Europe in the next few months. Specifically, the Omnia-centric store will grow to have more than 2,000 apps before 2010. Phone owners will be able to download apps using the Omnia's built-in Wi-Fi.
Omnia owners will be able to pay for apps by credit card or adding the charges to their mobile phone subscription plan. Furthermore, Samsung said the store will be compatible for future Omnia II, Omnia Lite, Omnia Pro and other smartphones.
The app store will be located at Samsungapps.com in the future. "Samsung Application Store is coming soon!" the Samsung site says. "Please visit us again soon."
Research In Motion (RIM), Nokia, LG Electronics, Palm also have their own stores, with several other companies expected to launch their own stores in the next few quarters. Samsung and LG have solid smartphones, but analysts have been critical of their software, especially if compared to Apple and RIM.
By The Wall Street Journal
Samsung today announced it's preparing an online app store for its Omnia smart phone, setting high expectations for future smart phone launches.
Following the success of the Apple App Store, handset manufacturers are launching online stores so phone owners can download custom programs for smartphones. Furthermore, it's a good way for independent developers to help the community while also cashing in on revenue sharing with manufacturers.
Samsung will include 300 apps at launch for phone owners in the United Kingdom, France and 30 other nations across Europe in the next few months. Specifically, the Omnia-centric store will grow to have more than 2,000 apps before 2010. Phone owners will be able to download apps using the Omnia's built-in Wi-Fi.
Omnia owners will be able to pay for apps by credit card or adding the charges to their mobile phone subscription plan. Furthermore, Samsung said the store will be compatible for future Omnia II, Omnia Lite, Omnia Pro and other smartphones.
The app store will be located at Samsungapps.com in the future. "Samsung Application Store is coming soon!" the Samsung site says. "Please visit us again soon."
Research In Motion (RIM), Nokia, LG Electronics, Palm also have their own stores, with several other companies expected to launch their own stores in the next few quarters. Samsung and LG have solid smartphones, but analysts have been critical of their software, especially if compared to Apple and RIM.
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