Samsung has reported a record-breaking quarterly profit for Q4, with smartphone shipments reaching 35million during the three months. And Apple is expected to announce smartphone sales of between 25million and 35million.
Meanwhile, HTC has seen profits drop for Q4, and BlackBerry is expected to announce a quarterly profit decline. Both are struggling to launch devices that are able to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy range of handsets.
Riding high, Samsung has revealed a 22% increase in operating profit during Q4 compared to the last quarter, rising to $4.5billion. And smartphone sales have hit 35million. Some (namely BNP Paribas and Korea Investment & Securities) are predicting smartphone shipments by Samsung will reach 170million during 2012.
Reuters explains part of the reason for Samsung’s success is its “slick production system”, its ability to get phones to market quickly. And HTC, Nokia and BlackBerry are unable to compete with Samsung devices at the moment, in terms of sales. Plus, its rivals are turning to Samsung for their mobile phone and tablet components.
A similar tale of high sales and profit is likely for Apple, with shipments of the iPhone expected to be as high as 35million.
Phone sales surged in Q4 thanks to the release of the iPhone 4S – in October the latest Apple phone accounted for 42.8% of all smartphone sales. CNET reports that analysts’ forecasts range from the 25million iPhones sold mark all the way to 35million. The average of the 22 Wall Street analysts’ forecasts is 29.74million, an 83% increase on Q4 2010. The average prediction from the 15 independent analysts is 33.42million, a 106% rise.
While we won’t know the exact figure until 24th January, we can be certain that Apple has enjoyed a strong quarter.
For HTC and BlackBerry, the picture is not so rosy. HTC has reported a net profit drop of 25.5% between October and December, Reuters confirms. And BlackBerry posted a 27% fall in quarterly profit in mid-December, with a modest forecast of smartphone shipments of 11-12million for the festive period.
Motorola Mobility, meanwhile, will announce Q4 results at the end of January, but has revealed 5.3million smartphones shipped during the quarter – and promised “several new products” at CES this week.
These financial results are fairly reflected in Best Mobile Contracts’ recent top selling handsets too – which saw the iPhone 4S and 4 on top, closely followed by Samsung’s Galaxy S II and S handsets.
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