Samsung Electronics predicted robust results for its third quarter due to a strong rebound in smartphone demand and a surge in memory chip sales as Huawei stocked up ahead of new US trade restrictions that went into effect in mid-September.

In an earnings guidance issued today (8 October), the consumer electronics giant forecast operating profit in the July to September period grew 58.1 per cent year-on-year to KRW12.3 trillion ($10.6 billion) and consolidated sales rose 6.5 per cent to KRW66 trillion.

The operating profit would be Samsung’s highest since Q3 2018, when the figure hit KRW17.5 trillion, while the revenue estimate would be its largest ever, topping the KRW65.98 trillion recorded in Q4 2017, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Sales of Galaxy smartphones were estimated to be up by about 50 per cent from Q2 to around 80 million units as retail channels in major markets started to return to normal, with the ASP of its smartphones increasing 10 per cent sequentially, the news agency stated.

Samsung, along with global chip manufacturers, is banned from supplying components to Huawei after 15 September as a result of the US closing a loophole around its trade blacklist. Huawei is a major Samsung customer for memory chips.

For its quarterly guidance, Samsung doesn’t disclose net profit or break out operating profit and revenue by division. It is scheduled to release full results later in the month.

In Q2, the company said a partial recovery in global demand since May helped offset some Covid-19 (coronavirus) effects, with net profit rising 8.5 per cent to KRW5.5 trillion on strong demand for memory chips and appliances, and a one-off gain in its Display Panel Business, while consolidated revenue fell 5.6 per cent to KRW52.9 trillion.