Samsung SDI posts 48 pct rise in Q3 earnings

(ATTN: RECASTS lead; ADDS more details; CORRECTS on-year earnings comparison in para
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By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Yonhap) -- Samsung SDI Co., the world's No. 2 maker of plasma
display panels (PDP) and lithium-ion batteries, reported Tuesday
better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter thanks to increased sales in
Europe and China.
Its consolidated net profit reached 87 billion won (US$73.8 million) in the
July-September period, up 48 percent from 58.8 billion won a year earlier,
Samsung SDI said in a regulatory filing.
The third-quarter profit was up 50 percent from three months earlier. It was also
above a market consensus of 66.7 billion won, according to Yonhap Infomax, the
financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.
Sales, however, fell 9 percent on-year to 1.35 trillion won while operating
profit advanced 10 percent to 88.1 billion won, the company said.
Despite the strong earnings, shares of Samsung SDI closed at 142,500 won on the
Seoul bourse, down 1.04 percent from Monday.
The company attributed the strong third-quarter earnings to robust sales of
batteries and displays as well as to an increased global market share.
Its battery division alone registered a quarterly high of 574 billion won in
sales in the third quarter, up 15 percent from the April-June period. Samsung SDI
has yet to produce rechargeable batteries for hybrid vehicles but supplies
lithium-ion batteries for computers and mobile handsets.
Samsung SDI also saw a 9 percent on-quarter rise in PDP sales to 545 billion won,
thanks to an increased market share in Europe and the holiday sales in China.
Revenues from cathode-ray tube (CRT) displays climbed 32 percent from the second
quarter to 192 billion won as sales in India, Southeast Asia, and South America
grew, the company said.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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