Strong smartphone sales led to record operating profit at Samsung for Q1 as the South Korean vendor powered past Nokia to become the world’s largest handsets vendor.

Although Samsung did not break out device sales figures, Strategy Analytics estimated that the firm shipped 93.5 million units in Q1 2012, giving it a 25.4 percent share of the global market ahead of the 82.7 million units reported by Nokia (22.5 percent) and Apple’s 35.1 million iPhones (9.5 percent). Nokia had held the number-one spot for 14 years.

Samsung’s operating profit reached an all-time high of KWR5.85 trillion, representing a 98-percent increase year-on-year. Revenues rose 22 percent to KWR45.27 trillion, while net profit almost doubled to KWR5.5 trillion.  

The firm’s IT & Mobile Communications unit accounted for over 70 percent of operating profit (KWR4.27 trillion) and over half of sales (KWR23.22 trillion), offsetting weaknesses in some of Samsung’s other divisions.

“Growth in shipments of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Note and Galaxy S II and other premium mobile devices yielded high returns, with significant growth in China, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa,” said Samsung in a statement.

The firm also confirmed it would unveil the next Galaxy device at an event in London next week (3 May), expected to be the long-awaited Galaxy S III smartphone.

“We expect Apple to grow further in the second quarter of the year, but the upcoming launch of Samsung’s new Galaxy S III flagship model could slow iPhone’s growth in some regions if it is well received by operators and consumers,” said Tom Kang, director at Strategy Analytics.