Samsung Elec flags 35% drop in Q4 profit as memory chip prices rebound

SEOUL (Reuters) – Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported a likely 35% drop in fourth-quarter operating profit on Tuesday, as a rebound in memory chip prices likely shrank losses in the South Korean company’s mainstay chips division.

The world’s largest memory chip, smartphone and TV maker estimated its operating profit fell to 2.8 trillion won ($2.13 billion) in October-December, from 4.31 trillion won a year earlier, in a short preliminary earnings statement.

($1 = 1,311.7800 won)

(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Chris Reese)