SEOUL, KOREA – Samsung Electronics said its profits surged 76% in the last three months of 2012, on the strength of its booming smartphone business.
Net income rose to 7.04tn won ($6.6bn; £4.2bn), up from 4.01tn won in the same period a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations.
The Korean firm said its mobile profits more than doubled over the same period.
Last year, Samsung became the world's biggest smartphone maker, overtaking Apple, its main rival in the sector.
Samsung's display division, which makes flat panels for TVs, rebounded in the fourth quarter, making a profit after a loss a year earlier.
The sales boost came from the organic light-emitting diodes, or OLED, screen used in the Galaxy smartphones.
Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets has been its top seller, driving profits.
The firm said its capital spending this year will be similar to 2012 levels, despite analyst expectations that it would be cut.
Source: BBC News
