Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      South Africa’s telcos battle to monetise 5G as 4G suffices for most

      15 July 2025

      Meta to build Manhattan-scale, multi-gigawatt data centres

      15 July 2025

      Trump tariffs could wreck South Africa’s vehicle manufacturing industry

      14 July 2025

      Legislative overhaul on the cards for South Africa’s ICT sector

      14 July 2025

      Microsoft South Africa to get new MD as Lillian Barnard moves to regional role

      14 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Electronics and hardware » Samsung feels Apple’s pain as tech slowdown hits sales

    Samsung feels Apple’s pain as tech slowdown hits sales

    By Agency Staff8 January 2019
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Samsung’s most recent flagship smartphone release, the Galaxy Note9

    Samsung Electronics’ quarterly profit and sales missed estimates on sputtering demand for memory chips during the last three months of 2018, the same quarter that Apple reported anaemic sales in China.

    The South Korean company’s operating income fell to 10.8-trillion won (US$9.6-billion) in the period that ended in December, according to preliminary results released on Tuesday, falling short of the 13.8-trillion won average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

    Deteriorating relations between the US and China — Samsung’s two biggest export destinations — has hit demand for memory used in everything from PCs to mobile devices, raising the pressure on a company struggling to revitalise its smartphone business. Compounding that challenge is weakness at Apple, a major customer of components; the iPhone maker stunned global markets last week when it cut its sales outlook for the first time in almost two decades.

    It’s a shock. It’s not just Apple, but also smartphone, server and PC manufacturers that are not buying

    “It’s a shock,” Song Myung-sup, an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities, said of Samsung’s results. “It’s not just Apple, but also smartphone, server and PC manufacturers that are not buying. While the US-China trade war hangs over them, these customers just won’t accept current prices, and Samsung faces pressure to cut chip prices.”

    Sales for the fourth quarter fell to 59-trillion won, compared to the 63.6-trillion won average projection compiled by Bloomberg. Samsung didn’t provide net income, which it will do later this month when it releases final results.

    Samsung’s shares fell as much as 2.1% before paring losses at midday in Seoul. The stock dropped 24% last year.

    Memory chips

    Memory chips account for the biggest portion of Samsung’s profit. Contract prices for 32GB DRAM server modules fell about 5% in the December quarter, according to InSpectrum Tech. Prices for 128GB MLC NAND flash memory chips fell about 3.4%.

    Apple’s surprise cut to its sales forecast last week suggested a worsening outlook for orders for Samsung. Apple receives memory chips and smartphone screens from Samsung and is the South Korean manufacturer’s biggest customer.

    Samsung said it expects earnings to remain subdued in the first three months of the year due to difficult conditions for memory. Profitability will recover in the second half, the company predicted, on projected improvements in the market, with rising adoption of new CPUs and launches of new smartphone products.

    While Samsung still leads the world in smartphone sales, it’s being squeezed by Chinese handset makers like Huawei. The South Korean company is pinning its hopes on a foldable-screen phone that it plans to ship this year, along with a flagship Galaxy S10 model that is said to feature an in-display fingerprint sensor and a near-zero bezel.

    While sales of its own devices have floundered, the company supplies organic light-emitting diode screens for Apple and Huawei. Samsung’s LCD televisions are facing increasing challenges from Chinese rivals that seek to crowd out South Korean products.

    “Recovering demand in the first quarter cannot be expected, because it is a seasonally low period and customers also know prices are coming off, so there’s no rush to buy,” said Sanjeev Rana, a Korea technology analyst at CLSA. “In the second quarter Samsung launches the Galaxy S10 and a lot of other Android makers announce new model launches that might help smartphone demand and enhance the demand for DRAM.”  — Reported by Sam Kim, (c) 2019 Bloomberg LP



    Apple Samsung Samsung Electronics
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleCES 2019 | Samsung unveils new home helper robots
    Next Article The best company to design your Android app

    Related Posts

    Apple plans product blitz to reignite growth

    11 July 2025

    Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

    10 July 2025

    AI gold rush propels Nvidia to record $4-trillion market cap

    9 July 2025
    Company News

    Banking on LEO: Q-KON transforms financial services connectivity

    14 July 2025

    The future of business calling: Voys brings your landline to the cloud

    14 July 2025

    How digital twins and AI are shaping the future of security

    14 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.