Samsung Electronics announced its operating profit for the third quarter would again drop sharply year-on-year, but noted the decline was mitigated by brisk sales of its 5G handsets.

In an earnings guidance issued today (8 October), the South Korean vendor forecast operating profit for the quarter would fall 56 per cent year-on-year to KRW7.7 trillion ($6.4 billion), while revenue is expected to decline 5.3 per cent to KRW62 trillion.

During Q2, operating profit from the vendor’s IT & Mobile Communications division fell 42 per cent year-on-year, despite a rise in revenue.

Although predicting a hefty decline for Q3, the company said earnings in the quarter were aided by strong sales of its Galaxy Note 10 flagship smartphone, which Reuters reported sold more than 1 million units in South Korea since its launch on 23 August.

The news agency said the vendor’s bottom-line continued to be hit by a slowdown in its memory chip business.

Samsung submitted the guidance in a regulatory filing and didn’t break out revenue or operating profit by business division. The company is expected to release detailed earnings later this month.