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| 삼성전자 서초사옥. (사진=연합뉴스) |
[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] The earnings outlook for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, South Korea's leading semiconductor companies, is getting gloomy.
Some predict that Samsung Electronics, which posted a surplus of KRW 14 trillion in the first quarter of last year, will post an operating profit of less than KRW 1 trillion in the first quarter of this year and SK Hynix will post a deficit of KRW 4 trillion.
According to securities information company FnGuide on the 19th, the average operating profit forecast for Samsung Electronics in the first quarter is 2.1098 trillion won. Samsung Electronics' operating profit plunged to KRW 4.3 trillion in the fourth quarter of last year, but it is expected to halve again in the first quarter of this year.
The reason why there is a pessimistic outlook as Samsung Electronics' earnings announcement approaches is because the semiconductor industry is weaker than originally expected. KB Securities expects Samsung Electronics' semiconductor division to post a deficit of 4 trillion won in the first quarter of this year.
The situation is the same for SK Hynix, a pure memory semiconductor company.
In the first quarter of this year, speculation is mounting that the deficit could grow further. The average forecast for the stock market is 3.6857 trillion won in operating losses in the first quarter.
AlphaBIZ 김지선(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
