Samsung (005930) on Friday posted its financial results for the third quarter of 2012, during which it nearly doubled its profit thanks to smartphone shipments estimated to be an all-time record. The South Korean consumer electronics giant pulled in $6 billion in profit, up 91% over the same quarter last year, on $47.6 billion in sales. Revenue for the quarter was up 26% from the year-ago quarter, and operating profit margin climbed to 18.8%.
Samsung’s mobile division was responsible for approximately two-thirds of the company’s profit, and according to estimates from market research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung shipped more smartphones in the third quarter than any company has in history — an astounding 57 million units.
“Samsung shipped 56.9 million smartphones worldwide and captured a record 35 percent marketshare [sic] in the third quarter of 2012. This was the largest number of units ever shipped by a smartphone vendor in a single quarter,” Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston said. “Despite tough competition in stores and courtrooms, Samsung continued to deliver numerous hit models, from the high-end Galaxy Note phablet to the mass-market Galaxy Y. Apple grew a healthy 57 percent annually and shipped 26.9 million smartphones worldwide for 17 percent marketshare [sic], up from 14 percent recorded a year earlier. Apple had a solid quarter in the important United States market and this helped to strengthen its global performance.”
Samsung’s chief rival Apple (AAPL) announced on Thursday that it shipped 27 million iPhones last quarter.
