이 기사는 2021년 04월 09일 08시04분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

The effect of a boom for chips on Samsung Electronics’ earnings is expected to unfold from the second quarter of 2021 as the company’s semiconductor plant in the U.S. has resumed operations after a temporary shutdown and a rise in chip prices starts to be reflected in earnings.

The South Korean technology said in a preliminary earnings report on Wednesday that it recorded an operating profit of 9.3 trillion won ($8.3 billion) for the three months through March, up more than 44% from the same period a year earlier.

Analysts expect that the upbeat performance would have largely driven by smartphone and home appliance businesses. In contrast, despite a boom in demand for chips, the company’s semiconductor business is believed to have recorded 3.6 trillion won in operating profit in the first quarter, down by hundreds of billions of won both year-on-year and sequentially.

However, analysts attributed the sluggish results to seasonal effects and temporary factors, maintaining an upbeat outlook for the company’s chip business. Growth in semiconductor sales is typically accelerated during the latter half of the year. Price negotiations also take place on a quarterly basis, with higher prices pushed up by ongoing chip shortages expected to boost the company’s earnings from the second quarter.

Samsung Electronics also suffered an unexpected loss of 300 billion won to 400 billion won from a six-week shutdown of its plant in Austin, Texas, due to blackouts caused by extreme cold. The plant resumed two weeks ago and its production is expected to be normalized soon.

Samsung Securities also estimated about 49 billion won in expenses related to capital expenditures in the first quarter. Samsung Electronics is building a new NAND flash factory in its Pyeongtaek campus.

“Compensation for losses from Texas power outages is likely to be included in the company’s second-quarter earnings,” said an analyst at Hi Investment & Securities. “Its second-quarter operating profit is expected to grow 7.4% quarter-on-quarter to 10.2 trillion won.”

“Average sales prices for Samsung’s DRAM and NAND will likely rise higher than expected on the back of rising demand,” said another analyst at Kiwoom Securities. “Higher chip prices and production resumed at the Austin plant will likely drive up the company’s shares.” (Reporting by Hye-ran Kim)