Quarter net results for 2015: Apple, Samsung and others

In today’s cut throat competition amongst some of the major tech companies, everyone is striving to be at the number one position by presenting the masses with the best in the field of personal technology. With the onset of 2015, some companies have already disclosed their quarter net results for the year. We take at look at some of the big players in the market such as Samsung, Apple and LG and share their Q1 results. Let’s begin with Samsung. The company  **posted** a near 40% fall in first quarter net profit, missing analyst estimates despite a surge in memory chip demand that cushioned a slump in smartphone sales. Facing increasing competition from arch rival Apple and smaller Chinese manufacturers, the world’s top handset maker reported a net profit of 4.6 trillion won ($4.3 billion) for the January-March period, down 38.9% from a year earlier. It was the fourth straight quarterly decline in net profit and missed the 4.9 trillion-won average of 23 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg News. Operating profit also fell 29.6%on-year to 6.0 trillion won, largely in line with the firm’s earlier forecast. Samsung is pinning its hopes on the sixth edition of its flagship high-end smartphone launched in April. The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge with a wraparound screen received rave reviews but Samsung cautioned competition would intensify in rapidly growing emerging markets. Despite the signs of recovery, the firm’s latest earnings still stood in stark contrast to Apple which this week reported a 33% surge in net profit to $13.6 billion in the first quarter thanks to blockbuster sales of the iPhone 6, especially in the Chinese market. The company also struggled to fend off a double challenge from Apple in the high-end market and rising Chinese firms such as Lenovo and Xiaomi in the fast-growing mid and low-end markets. **Shares of the most valuable publicly traded US company, Apple,**  which have risen more than 60% in the past year, hit a record high of $134.54 in early trading this week. Some analysts and investors had worried that iPhone sales may have peaked in the first quarter, when sales hit 74.5 million. The company sold 61.2 million iPhones in the latest quarter, beating the average analyst estimate of 57.3 million, according to market research firm StreetAccount. Apple shares are attractively valued at 14.6 times forward earnings, well below the S&P 500 average of 17.2, Citigroup analyst Jim Suva wrote in a client note. Analysts took note of Chief Executive Tim Cook’s comment that only about a fifth of active iPhone users have upgraded to the company’s latest models. That, they said, suggested potential for a lot of growth. Morgan Stanley analysts estimated there were about 425 million existing iPhone users, and speculated that more than half of them would upgrade before the end of the year. Many analysts say there could be at least half a billion iPhones in use by the end of the year, in part because more users of Google’s Android-run smartphones are switching to iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Talking about  Android-run devices, Korean manufacturer **LG said its quarterly profit plunged** 59% as losses from TVs offset a modest improvement in its smartphone business. The Korean company said its January-March net profit fell to 38.4 billion won ($36 million) from 92.6 billion won a year earlier. Sales were flat at 14 trillion won while operating profit slumped 37% to 305 billion won. Its mainstay TV business lost money as weak currencies in emerging markets sapped demand. LG sold a record high number of smartphones but its mobile profit was thin. Even after selling 15.4 million smartphones, up 26%, the division’s operating profit margin was just 2%. Apple’s margin was more than 20% while Samsung’s was about 10%. The company is struggling to gain a slice of the high-end smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung. LG began sales of the flagship G4 smartphones in South Korea on Wednesday and they will hit shelves in global markets in coming months. With the G4, LG is trying to distinguish its new phones from iPhones and Galaxy smartphones with a leather design and powerful camera features that improve images taken in low-light conditions. The company’s home appliance division that sells air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines was the most lucrative business for LG during the quarter. Home appliance sales were also hurt by the strengthening of the South Korean currency but the company said profit improved because it sold more high-end products in South Korea.