Samsung loses $2bn in two months on semiconductor manufacturing - a business that has been profitable since 2009

South Korean manufacturer Samsung has not had the best start to 2023. The company announced the Galaxy S23 smartphones, which sold better than the Galaxy S22, and also unveiled new 4K and 8K Neo QLED TVs. However, its semiconductor division lost $2bn in January and February.

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The key reason is the drop in demand for memory and the global downturn in the economy as a whole. If the situation does not change in March, the Suwon-based company could have an operating loss of $3 billion for the first quarter of 2023. The last time Samsung's semiconductor business made a loss was in 2008.

The company ran into problems back in late 2022. In 12 months, the semiconductor business brought in $17.5 billion of $33 billion in operating profit. But there is an important nuance here. For the first half of 2022, operating profit was $13.5bn. In the third quarter, it fell to $3.8bn and in the fourth quarter, to $0.2bn, down 97% year-on-year.

Source: SamMobile