Samsung Electronics on track for record Q3; CEO Kwon Oh-hyun to step down

CEO and Vice-Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun's surprise resignation comes even as he was expected to take a bigger role

Tech giant Samsung Electronics Co Ltd estimated on Friday its third-quarter operating profit nearly tripled from a year earlier, beating expectations as strong memory chip prices likely padded margins.

However, even as the Korean giant forecast the record profits, it said its CEO and Vice-Chairman Kwon Oh-hyun had decided to step down from management.   

Samsung said its July-September profit was likely 14.5 trillion won ($12.81 billion), compared with an average forecast of 14.3 trillion won from a Thomson Reuters survey of 20 analysts.

Revenue likely rose 29.7 per cent from a year earlier to 62 trillion won, Samsung said in