ID :
169099
Fri, 03/18/2011 - 04:28
Auther :

Samsung eyes record 2011 profit despite tough outlook

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead to highlight tough outlook; ADDS more details)
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. is aiming to set new records in annual operating profit and revenue this year though business conditions are expected to be unfavorable, its chief executive said Friday.
Samsung, the world's top memory chipmaker, posted an all-time high operating profit of 17 trillion won ($15 billion) in 2010. Its revenue also stood at a record high of 155 trillion won.
"Market conditions in the electronics industry will not improve significantly and with the intensifying competition among companies, the profitability is expected to worsen," Choi Gee-sung, the company's chief executive officer, told shareholders in an annual meeting.
"But we will try to extend revenue growth from last year and post a record-high operating profit," he said. The company will also lift investment from last year's 26 trillion won (US$23 billion), he added.
Samsung's upbeat 2011 performance targets come amid mounting worries that Japan's devastating earthquake and the unrest in the Middle East may derail the pace of the global economic growth.
The instability in the Middle East threatens to drive crude oil prices to new highs while Japan's worst natural disaster in its history is feared to squeeze electronics supply chains in the Asian exporter.
Against such a backdrop, Samsung will try to consolidate its lead in its mainstays: semiconductors, liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, mobile phones and TVs, the company's CEO said.
It will make an aggressive push into new businesses, with a focus on solar batteries and medical equipment in particular, he added.

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