Apple Vs Samsung: After Note 7 Problems, Forecasts Predict Best Quarterly Profit In Three Years

Apple’s rival Samsung Electronics forecast its best quarterly profit in more than three years in the January-March period, Reuters reported Friday. The announcement comes after the company struggled with the global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 and a political scandal involving the company’s Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee.

The forecast puts the company back in the game for record annual earnings, fastly recovering from last year’s bump with the fire-catching Galaxy Note 7, which cost the company $5.3 billion in operating profit.

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Following issues with the Note 7, the Korean company suffered its worst decline in smartphone sales, according to tech research firm Gartner. Samsung smartphone sales fell in the third quarter of 2016 by 14.2 percent year over year, making it the company’s worst performance ever.

Amid the company’s struggle with the Note 7, Samsung’s vice chairman was embroiled in a political scandal facing charges, including bribing ousted South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Now Samsung is doing much better. The company said the operating profit for the first quarter was likely 9.9 trillion won ($8.8 billion USD). The figure is higher than the average 9.4 trillion forecast from 18 analysts, according to Reuters. Revenue jumped 0.4 percent to 50 trillion won, above the analysts’ forecasts.

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The forecast does not include the revenue the company is hoping to make with its new Galaxy S8, which is set to release this month.

Analysts are expecting Samsung’s best-ever quarterly profit in the April-June period when the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus launch. Some researchers believe the smartphone will set a new first-year sales record.

The much-awaited Galaxy S8 is destined to be one of the best phones to hit the market this year, offering virtual assistant Bixby to compete with Apple’s Siri. The S8 is a bezel-less smartphone with Infinity Display. The Samsung Galaxy S8 features a 5.8-inch Quad HD dual-edge display, while Galaxy S8 Plus sports a 6.2-inch Quad HD display.