SEOUL: South Korea’s Samsung Electronics said Tuesday that its operating profits for the July to September period were down nearly 80 percent, but forecast that a prolonged slump in the memory chip market was coming to an end.

The firm is the flagship subsidiary of Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates that dominate business in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

Samsung announced third-quarter operating profits of 2.4 trillion won ($1.7 billion), down 77.6 percent year on year, citing “strong sales of flagship models in mobile and strong demand for displays” for a recovery from earlier quarters this year.

Although down sharply from 2022, the company’s third-quarter profit was well above the first quarter’s 640 billion won — the lowest since 2009 — and the second quarter’s 670 billion won.