Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s biggest maker of televisions, memory chips and flat screens, forecast weaker fourth-quarter earnings because of falling prices and the strengthening South Korean won.
Oversupply of computer-memory chips and the drop in liquid- crystal display prices will persist, the Suwon-based company said in a statement. Samsung, which today reported record third- quarter profit, also said it anticipates “severe” competition in TV prices during the year-end season.
Samsung led technology-related stocks lower in Asian trading as the projections fueled concern the earnings recovery by the region’s export-driven companies is losing steam. Government reports today showed South Korean industrial production slowed and Japanese consumer prices fell, signaling weaker economic growth. “It comes to the economy of advanced markets, and there are only expectations,” said a fund manager.
