Samsung Scores Record Q1 2012

It's definitely that time of the month: just about company is releasing its Q1 '12 financial results, and the trend seems to be that they're either delivering killer results or floundering. Samsung falls into the former category, announcing that total sales reached ₩45.27 trillion (~$39.9 billion), slightly down from last quarter, but up 22% year-on-year. Operating profit is at an all time high at ₩5.85 trillion (~$5.15 billion), a 98% increase from Q1 2011.

Samsung says that semiconductor and TV sales were both down this quarter, but the high demand for LCD panels used in smartphones and tablets helped pushed that division into profitability. The company goes on to say that monitor panels were weak, but demand for tablet and TV panels will increase in the coming months.

Sales of feature phones has slowed down in developed markets as more and more customers acquire smartphones, and Samsung's financials bear that out too. The company notes that while market demand is down, its own smartphone earnings significantly increased year-on-year, with shipments rising across all segments of the market, including developing nations.

Going forward, Samsung expects there to be strong demand for new components as new PC and mobile products launch, and smartphone demands will also increase. That will help the company ship even more phones globally, which is definitely helping them overtake poor Nokia.