SEOUL: Samsung reported its smallest quarterly profit in nearly three years Thursday as its key smartphone business faltered under competition from Apple's iPhone6 and Chinese handset makers in an increasingly saturated market.
Net profit for the South Korean electronics giant amounted to 4.22 trillion won ($4 billion) for July to September, marking a dramatic fall of 48.8 percent from a year ago, and the lowest figure since the fourth quarter of 2011.
Operating profit also dropped 60 percent from a year ago to 4.06 trillion won, while sales tumbled about 20 percent to 47.4 trillion won, Samsung said in a statement.
The firm's mobile unit reported operating profit of 1.75 trillion won in the third quarter, a dramatic decline from 6.7 trillion won a year ago.
Despite a slight increase in unit sales volume, actual sales revenue tumbled to 24.6 trillion won from 36.6 trillion won.
"The average selling price of smartphones declined due to an increased share of middle- to low-end smartphone sales and price reductions of existing smartphone models," the company said.
The third-quarter performance by the world's largest manufacturer of smartphones and televisions followed a 20 percent drop in profit in the second quarter.
The company has a diverse product line ranging from memory chips to home appliances, but more than half its sales are generated by mobile devices.
The latest edition of Samsung's previously all-conquering Galaxy S smartphone met with a lukewarm response on its launch in April.
It was also forced to introduce the new edition of the oversized smartphone Galaxy Note earlier than scheduled in September as the latest iPhone6 from US rival Apple enjoyed better-than-expected demand.
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