Samsung expects record Q4 financials as Galaxy range proves popular

Firm expected to continue thriving in 2012 but HTC suffers a slump

Samsung has posted record fourth quarter operating profits of $4.5bn, due to the success of its Galaxy smartphone range, and said it expects this success to continue into 2012.

The record profits were an increase of 73 per cent year-on-year and $860m on the previous quarter as the firm defied the gloomy economic situation.

The fourth quarter figures were also given a boost by the sale of the firm's hard drive business to Seagate, which generated around $1.4bn.

The Korean firm also revealed that total revenues for 2011 topped $141bn, up 6.5 per cent from the previous year.

The preliminary financials will be pleasant news for investors, especially as fellow smartphone manufacturer HTC posted a 26 per cent decline in profits between the fourth quarters of 2010 and 2011.

Samsung became the top smartphone maker in the third quarter of 2011, shipping 23.6 million units and surpassing Apple with a 20 per cent market share.

The Korean firm also predicted that it would sell more than 300 million smartphones during the year, but has yet to release official figures.

Francisco Jeronimo, research manager for European mobile devices at IDC, told V3 he was not surprised by the record-breaking predictions as 2011 was such a strong year for the firm.

"Samsung is doing very well in the mobile market as it has an attractive portfolio, a good range of price points and is seen as a popular brand," he said.

"Even its Bada platform is doing well in some regions and the firm is likely to invest in Windows Phone this year. We expect Samsung to continue as the number one smartphone manufacturer during 2012 as it continues to add to its popular Galaxy portfolio."

Jeronimo acknowledged that while the sale of its hard drive business to Seagate helped Samsung's Q4 financials, the firm did not do it for cash, but sold the business as it did not want to continue investing in this area.

Reports suggest the Galaxy S III is expected to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress at the end of February. Although specifications have yet to be confirmed the device could boast a 1.8GHz quad core processor and even have a 3D-capable display.