Samsung reported the expected strong performance for its mobile business, citing “strong sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note.”

The company said smartphones led the growth in mobile sales with developed markets, and the EU in particular, showing strong growth. Smartphone shipments were up 30 percent quarter on quarter – although it stopped giving volume figures some time ago.

For the fourth quarter, Samsung’s mobile sales hit KRW17.2 trillion (US$15.3 billion), up 54 percent year on year. Mobile sales reached KRW53.4 trillion for the twelve months, up 40 percent on 2010.

For 2012, the company forecasts smartphone sales will grow a further 30 percent, although feature phone growth will slow.  The company also expects tablet sales to increase significantly year on year, with new mass-market models intensifying competition.

On a group level, Samsung saw a 17 percent year on year rise in net profit for the fourth quarter of 2011 to hit KRW4.0 trillion, compared to KRW3.4 trillion for Q4 2010. Q4 2011 revenue was KRW47.3 trillion, up 13 percent on the KRW41.9 trillion on the final quarter of 2010.

However, net profit for the full year 2011 fell 15 percent to KRW13.7 trillion compared to KRW16.2 trillion for 2010. This was despite revenue of KRW165 trillion compared to KRW154.6 trillion, up 6.7 percent. Over the year, the company increased its cash pile by KRW4.4 trillion, to have KRW26.9 trillion in the bank.