Samsung set for record profits
Samsung this morning said its profits for the last quarter of 2011 would jump 73 per cent to a life-time high, aided by record-breaking sales of its smartphones. The South Korean firm, which surged past Apple as the world’s top smartphone maker in the third quarter, said its quarterly operating profit would come in at around $4.5bn (£2.9bn). In 2012 its smartphone sales are expected to rise to as high as 170m units, according to BNP Paribas and Korea Investment & Securities. Samsung’s handset division is now its biggest earnings generator, raking in record profits.