Samsung Electronics sees profit fall 8% in the second quarter

Profit for the quarter from April to June fell to 5.75tn won (£3.2bn, $4.9bn), down 8% from last year.

The results are in line with the South Korean company's earnings guidance, given earlier this month.

The firm's smartphone section continues to suffer from stiff competition from Apple's iPhone and cheaper low to mid-end Chinese rivals.

The result marks the fifth straight quarterly profit drop for the company.

The best performance for the quarter came from its semiconductor department, helping to narrow the profit decline.

Smartphone headwinds

Profit for the mobile division though fell to 2.76tn won from 4.42tn won a year earlier.

Samsung said that sales of its Galaxy S6 smartphone fell short of expectations because the company could not meet the demand for its flagship model.

According to the vice president for mobile business, Park Jin-Young, the company hopes to see its phone sales increase in the coming quarter with new large-screen and budget models to be launched.

Samsung has seen profits sag since late 2013 due to increasing competition in the smartphone market the company had dominated for years.

The best performance for the quarter came from its semiconductor department, helping to narrow the profit decline.

(BBC)