Samsung may see its fourth-quarter profits plunge

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Samsung says it may see its fourth-quarter profits plunge by more than 30 percent but the electronics giant is feeling a bit more optimistic for 2020.

Samsung said Wednesday (8 January 2020) that fall was expected and its actually not as bad as analysts feared.

That news sent the company's share up 2.2 percent in morning trade.

Earnings from chips and mobile devices are doing better than expected.

Premium smartphone sales were boosted as well.

Analysts say Samsung has Huawei to thank in part.

Huawei has suffered losses as a U.S. campaign pushing allies to boycott its gear takes a toll and Samsung has scooped up some of that business.

Even still, 2019 marks Samsung's steepest decline in a decade.

Profit fell 53 percent from the year before while phones were strong through 2019.

Samsung is the world's biggest maker of memory chips and that sector faced steep challenges last year.

A weak global economy and a market awash in supply drove down chip prices and that meant red across the balance sheets.

U.S.-China trade war also took a bite out of demand for tech products and signs it could cool off, may give Samsung hope.

New smartphones running next-generation 5G tech may also help lift global demand for Samsung products this year.

The company will publish detailed earnings in late January.

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