Samsung released its Q4 2022 and full-year financial results, reporting a record-breaking annual revenue of $244 billion, an 8% increase from 2021. However, the operating profit was $3.5 billion, a 15% decrease from the previous year.
During Q4, weak demand due to the global economic slowdown resulted in declining sales across nearly all divisions of the Korean company.
The Mobile Experience (MX) division experienced a 9% YoY revenue decline in Q4, but full-year sales showed a 10% increase from the previous year. Despite this, profits dropped both quarterly and annually in Q4, and also decreased for the full year.
Samsung attributes this to a contraction in the mass market due to inflation and geopolitical instability.
Although demand for Galaxy smartphones was weaker than expected during the holiday quarter, flagship models still performed better than market projections.
Samsung predicts the trend to continue in Q1 2023 but predicts a turnaround with the launch of the Galaxy S23 series, set to arrive tomorrow, with improved camera and gaming capabilities.
Samsung has forecasted that the next year will be challenging, with mass-market models being the most impacted. To counteract this, the company plans to offer competitive deals through carriers and expand its reach among first-time 5G users.
New A-series phones are also right around the corner that are typically the main drivers of Samsung’s smartphone sales. The Galaxy A14 5G is already here, but the upcoming Galaxy A34 and A54 are expected to help turn things around during the year.
