Samsung will target rivals in M&A spree
SAMSUNG chief executive Choi Gee-sung yesterday fired a warning shot to rivals General Electric and Philips, saying he will he will aggressively target acquisitions in their sectors to compensate for his flagging chip business.
He said he will target growth industries including solar cells, LEDs, biopharmaceuticals and medical equipment to complement his firm’s booming smartphone business.
The Korean company stormed to the top of the smartphone sales podium last week after adding a whopping 14.5 per cent to its market share in just a year. Boosted by its lauded Galaxy S2 handset, it shifted an astonishing 28m smartphones in its third quarter, surpassing Apple’s 17.1m.
Apple remained in second place, with Nokia falling from the top smartphone seller in the third quarter last year, with 26.5m units, to third place.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC said it sees slightly lower revenue and shipments in the fourth quarter than in the third, citing uncertainties over new handsets and continuing market turmoil.
It said it expects fourth-quarter revenues of around £2.6bn, down from £2.8bn last quarter. It also expects to ship 12-13m handsets, down from 13.3m last quarter.
The company has seen strong sales growth in the last quarter, with China jumping ninefold compared with the same period a year earlier.
Earlier this month the smartphone maker said its net profit rose 68 per cent in the third quarter, slower than in previous quarters but within expectations, as customer demand for the hi-tech gadgets stayed strong even in the face of a global economic slowdown.