With 2018 having been a record year for earnings, last year’s slump likely means Samsung posted its biggest percentage drop in annual profit in at least a decade.
The South Korean tech giant said first-quarter operating profit likely slid 60% from a year earlier, missing market expectations and putting it on track for its weakest quarterly profit since late 2016.
The South Korean tech company needs to get the foldable phone right to reverse steep declines in profit for its mobile division and restore some of the cachet its brand has lost to Apple Inc.
Apple’s quarterly results topped Wall Street forecasts, which dropped ahead of the report on growing concern over the iPhone.
Vendors are focusing on features designed to encourage consumers to ditch their old phones earlier than they would have previously.
Led by a stellar fourth quarter, the company brought home an annual profit of 53.7 trillion won in 2017, outstripping a record of 36.8 trillion won reached in 2013.
Its parent company in May secured permission from South Korean authorities to test a self-driving car fitted with its own sensors and software systems.
The 48-year-old Lee, scion of the country's richest family, was taken into custody at the Seoul Detention Centre after waiting there overnight for the decision.
Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee has been accused of pledging $37.31 million to a business & organisations backed by Park’s friend.
Samsung SDI is one of two battery suppliers for the Note 7 smartphones, which were eventually recalled globally.
The the smartphone maker says faulty batteries were to blame for the product failure.
Jay Lee has been implicated in an alleged corruption scandal that led parliament to impeach President Park Geun-hye.
Wearing a dark suit, white shirt and dark red necktie, Lee bowed after making his brief remarks to a crowd of journalists.
President Park could become the nation’s first democratically elected leader to leave office early after parliament voted to impeach her.
Described as the biggest shake up in its 47-year history, investors and analysts have long viewed a split for Samsung Electronics.
The transaction highlights Samsung’s efforts to break into the high-barrier automotive industry.
The incentives would compensate consumers for their big inconvenience, Samsung said.
Samsung announced the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in following reports of the phones catching fire.
