Samsung Electronics, LG forecast 40pc leaps in Q1 operating profits

South Korea's two biggest electronics firms both forecast jumps of around 40 percent in their first-quarter operating profits Wednesday, with coronavirus-driven working from home fuelling global demand for semiconductors and home appliances. Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics said in an earnings estimate that it expected operating profit of 9.3 trillion won ($8.3 billion) for January to March, up 44.2 percent from a year earlier, largely driven by robust sales of smartphones and the launch of its flagship Galaxy S21 series.

Meanwhile, LG Electronics, South Korea's second-largest appliance firm after Samsung, forecast a 39.2 percent jump in operating profit for the same period, to 1.5 trillion won. "Both quarterly revenue and operating profit are the highest in the company's history," it said in a statement.