The past few weeks have been all about damage control for Samsung in the wake of the shocking Galaxy Note 7 double recall, and now it’s time for a quick damage check. An official, final and painful Q3 2016 audit, previewed not long ago, but still decidedly uncomfortable to see confirmed for devoted fans of the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer.
Gone are the days of record-breaking financial growth across the board, although a couple of divisions did manage to boost their operating profit both sequentially and annually. Even the mobile business reported a microscopic quarterly net gain of 0.1 trillion won, which is however massively down from the Q3 2015 score of KRW 2.4tn and Q2 2016’s 4.32 trillion won surplus tally.
The 100 billion won ($87.8 million) is in fact the worst profit result of Samsung’s IM, aka mobile, department in almost eight years, while the overall 5.2 trillion won ($4.5 billion) marks a 30 percent annual decline, as well as the lowest total profit score since Q3 2014.
Consolidates sales didn’t do much better between July and September 2016, dropping 7.5 percent compared to the same period last year, from KRW 51.68 trillion to 47.82tn. But it’s not all doom and gloom for a company now focused entirely on “regaining consumers’ confidence”, as Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge demand remains “solid”, with “steady” mid-tier growth achieved by Galaxy A and J-series devices.
Up next, the aim is to “normalize” the mobile business, and expand sales of “new flagship products with differentiated design and innovative features.” Can you say “full-screen” Galaxy S8?