Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics recorded an "earning surprise"in the first quarter, well exceeding market expectations.
The Q1 results for two companies, which had benefited from the prolonged COVID-19, were strong due to the 'pent-up' demand with the economic recovery.
Samsung Electronics recorded 65 trillion won in sales and 9.3 trillion won in operating profit through the announcement of its provisional performance in the first quarter. The result was the record high first quarter and is the highest sales ever, comparable to the previous record of the third quarter of last year.
Earlier, securities firms predicted that Samsung Electronics' first-quarter sales would be 61.485 trillion won and operating profit would be 8.8734 trillion won. The better-than-expected earnings are credited to the early launch of the Galaxy S21, diversification of its price lineup and the promotion of premium home appliances.
LG Electronics also posted the best quarterly result in both sales and operating profit due to strong sales in home appliances. According to LG Electronics' provisional result for the quarter, sales rose 27.7% year-over-year to 18.8057 trillion won and operating profit rose 39.2% to 1.5178 trillion won.
First-quarter earnings consensus estimated sales of 17.7828 trillion won and operating profit of 1.1798 trillion won, but the results were a lot higher than that.
Reporter Lee Ji-sun stockmk2020@gmail.com
