[미디어SR 정혜원 기자] On the 28th, Samsung Electronics announced last year’s sales of 23.68 trillion won and operating profit of 35.993.9 billion won.
Samsung Electronics’ sales in 2020 recorded 23.68 trillion won, an increase of 2.78% compared to 2019, and its operating profit was 35.993.9 billion won, a 29.62% increase from the previous year. Despite the increased uncertainty caused by the spread of Corona 19, it has succeeded in raising operating profit by close to 30% compared to 2019 through flexible and strategic responses.
On a consolidated basis, Samsung Electronics’ fourth quarter sales were 61,551.5 billion won, and operating profit was 9.47 trillion won. Intensifying competition in the set (mobile (IM) and home appliance (CE)) divisions and a decline in memory semiconductor prices resulted in a decrease in 4Q sales by 8.1% compared to the previous quarter, and operating profit also fell by memory prices, the set business On the back of a decline in sales, an increase in marketing expenses, and negative exchange rate effects, the company’s operating margin fell to 14.7%, a decrease of 3.3 trillion won compared to the previous quarter.
A Samsung Electronics official said to Media SR, “Overall, thanks to the demand for’pent-up’ in the previous quarter, the performance in the third quarter was good, unlike the industry cycle. It showed good results.”
In fact, compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, sales increased by 2.8% due to the increase in demand for parts in the fourth quarter of last year, and both operating profit and margin also increased.
In addition, according to Samsung Electronics, it is analyzed that the fourth quarter’s performance was negatively affected by about 1.4 trillion won compared to the previous quarter, mainly for the parts business due to the strong won.
This is because the dollar, euro, and most of the major emerging markets (Emerging Markets) currencies were significantly weaker than the won.
◆Strengthening corporate social responsibility (CSR)…’Sustainability Management’ and’Shareholder Return Policy’
Samsung Electronics announced that it will upgrade the Sustainability Management Council to CFO (Chief Financial Officer, Chief Financial Officer) in order to continue making efforts and investments to secure business competitiveness as well as to create environmental and social values.
The Sustainability Management Council is a consultative body that discusses company-wide sustainability management strategies. If it is upgraded to the CFO’s supervision, the priority of sustainability will increase in the overall management decision-making process.
In addition, on that day, Samsung Electronics announced that it would upgrade the Sustainability Management Office under the existing Management Support Office to the’Sustainability Management Promotion Center’ directly under the CEO and reinforce its role as a control tower for company-wide sustainability management.
The Sustainability Management Office was also established at the divisional level, and the organization was reorganized to implement sustainability into products and services throughout the entire life cycle (life cycle) of products, from product planning to R&D, marketing, and AS.
Samsung Electronics announced that it will continue to strengthen its response to ESG (environmental, social and governance) to solidify the foundation for sustainable management.
Subsequently, Samsung Electronics announced that it would return 50% of its free cash flow (FCF) to its shareholders for three years from 2021 to 2023 as before, and the regular dividend amount was raised by 200 billion won to 9.8 trillion won per year. . From 2018 to 2020, it paid 9.6 trillion won in dividends every year.
Even after paying regular dividends on this day, Samsung Electronics also maintains a policy of additionally returning residual resources from the free cash flow.
From this year onwards, the company announced that it would clarify the amount of remaining resources by sharing annual free cash flow performance every year, and actively review the early return of some of the remaining resources in case of a meaningful amount of remaining resources.
Samsung Electronics decided to pay a one-time special dividend of 1578 won per share (total of 1.07 trillion won) in accordance with the promise to give back additional financial resources excluding regular dividends. Special dividends are 1932 won per common share and 1933 won per preferred share, combined with regular dividends for the fourth quarter, and will be paid in April after approval at the general shareholders’ meeting as of the end of 2020.
◆ Outlook for 2021, although it will be somewhat slow in the first quarter, it aims to “build a foundation for growth”
Samsung Electronics predicted that even though the industry is expected to recover somewhat this year, uncertainties in business conditions such as Corona 19 and exchange rates will continue. Nevertheless, the company plans to continue building growth and necessary foundations to secure market leadership and’super gap’ competitiveness.
In particular, at a conference call (telephone conference), Samsung Electronics said, “We have reviewed the targets for M&A over the past few years and have prepared a lot.” Year), I will think positively about promoting meaningful M&A.”
Samsung Electronics predicted that the wireless division’s earnings would improve with the early launch of the’Galaxy S21′ in the first quarter, but predicted that the decline in profitability of the parts business, such as memory and display, would affect the profitability decline in the first quarter of the first quarter. In addition, despite demand recovery, negative FX rates and initial costs for new lines are expected to be large.
◇DS(Device Solution · Device Solution) The division recorded 18 trillion won in sales and 3.85 trillion won in operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year. The decline in memory semiconductor prices and the impact of FX rates in the fourth quarter led to a decline in profits despite solid demand.
In the first quarter of this year, the mobile market is expected to expand in earnest thanks to the launch of various new products, and demand for data centers is expected to increase, and demand for notebooks for non-face-to-face activities is expected to continue to improve. It was observed that weakening would continue.
In the case of DRAM, Samsung Electronics plans to increase the proportion of 1z nanometers and focus on timely sales, while NAND plans to promote cost competitiveness and market leadership by accelerating the transition to the 6th generation V-NAND.
In addition, while responding to demand fluctuations through flexible product operation, the world’s first multi-step EUV-applied 1a-nano DRAM and 7th-generation V-NAND, etc., are expected to lead the next-generation lineup.
The foundry business recorded the largest quarterly sales in the fourth quarter as demand for 5G mobile chips, sensors, and HPC chips increased, but earnings fell due to the weak dollar.
However, Samsung Electronics has demonstrated the competitiveness of advanced processes by completing the design of the 5nm 2nd and 4nm 1st generation mobile products in a timely manner.
As the foundry market is also expected to continue growing this year thanks to the acceleration of 5G penetration and strong HPC demand, Samsung Electronics plans to secure the basis for future growth by increasing the production of advanced processes and expanding the proportion of global customers.
◇DP (display panel)
The display division achieved the highest quarterly results with sales of 9.96 trillion won and operating profit of 1.7 trillion won in the fourth quarter. Samsung Electronics explained that the performance of small and medium-sized displays significantly improved compared to the previous quarter due to strong demand from major customers, and the loss of large-sized displays was greatly reduced due to rising unit prices due to continued demand from the expansion of non-face-to-face services.
Samsung Electronics said that the small and medium-sized display business is expected to decline in earnings due to a decrease in customer demand in the first quarter of this year. However, throughout this year, the 5G smartphone market will expand in earnest and demand will recover, and the utilization rate will improve compared to the same period last year as major customers increase their OLED adoption models.
Accordingly, Samsung Electronics is planning to improve technology completion and cost competitiveness in preparation for the full-scale growth of the market. It announced that it will develop a differentiated technology QD (Quantum Dot) display in a timely manner and establish a premium market base through customer diversification.
◇IM (IT & Mobile Communications)
The IT and mobile communication division recorded sales of 22.34 trillion won and operating profit of 2.4 trillion won. At the end of the year, sales and profits decreased QoQ due to increased marketing costs due to intensifying competition, but continued efforts to improve cost structure such as parts standardization and maintained a double-digit operating margin. However, Samsung Electronics predicted that in the first quarter of this year, the demand for smartphones and tablets will decrease QoQ as the mobile market enters the off-peak season.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics predicted that the economy will recover gradually this year, and as the 5G market expands in earnest, market demand will recover to the level before Corona 19. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics plans to strengthen its leadership in the premium market by maximizing sales of the’Galaxy S21′ in the wireless business and promoting the popularization of foldable categories such as’Galaxy Z Fold’ and’Galaxy Z Flip’.
In addition, the company plans to expand smartphone sales by reinforcing its competitive mid- to low-end 5G lineup, while continuing to strengthen the foundation for business growth such as tablets and wearables. In addition, through cooperation with global partners, the Galaxy ecosystem will be further expanded, and efforts to achieve solid profitability such as cost structure improvement and operational efficiency will continue.
◇CE (Consumer Electronics / Consumer Electronics)
The consumer electronics division recorded sales of KRW 13.61 trillion and operating profit of KRW 82 billion in the fourth quarter. As the TV market continued strong demand for pent-ups centered on advanced markets during the peak season at the end of the year, Samsung Electronics proactively responded to demand during the high-demand season through strengthened non-face-to-face sales competitiveness. In addition, by expanding online sales and O2O (Online to Offline) services, sales centered on high value-added products such as QLED, ultra-large and gaming monitors increased.
Samsung Electronics announced that sales grew QoQ in both advanced and emerging markets, and profitability improved year-on-year by focusing on sales of premium products and flexible high-demand promotions by region.
Although the TV market in the first quarter of this year is seasonally off-demand, although demand is expected to decrease compared to the previous quarter, growth is expected compared to the same period in 2019. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics plans to focus on securing growth and profitability by maximizing sales opportunities by maximizing sales opportunities by developing various promotions by country through close preliminary cooperation with distribution, and accelerating sales structure improvement focusing on high value-added products such as ultra-large and lifestyle TVs.
In addition, Samsung Electronics predicts that demand for pent-ups will continue in the advanced market this year along with the first quarter of this year. Samsung Electronics plans to expand its premium product’BESPOKE’ platform to other product categories, and continue its growth by launching innovative premium new products and strengthening online marketing activities.