Samsung Electronics Tips Second Quarter Pickup, Smartphone Challenge Looms

[Ron Burgundy]

By Se Young Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Tuesday said it expected stronger earnings in the second quarter as a pickup in sales of high-end televisions and smartphones spurs growth, after it posted its second straight fall in quarterly profit. The South Korean tech giant said the football World Cup in Brazil should help boost sales of screens and smartphones in the current quarter, as fans splurge on up-market devices like ultra high-definition (UHD) TVs to watch the action. A revival of sales of upmarket TVs and smartphones is crucial for Samsung to sustain growth, as its mainstay mobile business, which generated three fourths of its first-quarter profit, reported its first smartphone market share loss in four years. "Their handset shipments guidance suggests there will be low single-digit growth for smartphone shipments for the second quarter, which I think might be below street expectations," said Maybank Kim Eng analyst Warren Lau.

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