Samsung capitalises on Huawei downturn as profits surge

Samsung registered record-high revenues in the third quarter of 2020, reclaiming its title of the global tech leader at a time when nearest rival Huawei remains quashed by US sanctions.

The Korean tech giant managed to rake in a record-breaking 66.96 trillion won (£45.4bn) in consolidated revenues between July and September 2020, an increase of 8% from Q3 of 2019.

Samsung’s operating profit skyrocketed to 12.35 trillion won (£7.78 bn) a 52% increase from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, its net profit increased by 49% to 9.36 trillion won (£6.31 billion).

The company’s exceptionally strong revenues are credited to its 50% increase in smartphone sales and a staggering 82% rise in microchip profits.

Strong sales of Samsung’s premium TVs and appliances also contributed to the impressive results.

Samsung's gains appear to have been at the expense of rival Huawei, which is suffering steady decline as a result of tough US sanctions and a number of countries moving to ban the sale of its networking technology.

Last week, it was reported that the Chinese tech giant's revenue growth for the first three quarters of 2020 had drastically slowed down in comparison to the same period last year. Huawei saw revenues increase by just 9.9% from January to September – that's compared to record growth of 24.4% recorded in the first nine months of 2019.

Commenting on the revelations in a blog post, Huawei said its business results “basically met expectations”.

Last July, Huawei briefly held the title of the world's biggest smartphone brand, managing to outsell Samsung for the first time in the second quarter of 2020. It managed to ship 55.8 million devices, according to research from Canalys, with 70% of its business in the Chinese mainland. In comparison, second-placed Samsung shipped 53.7 million smartphones, a 30% fall against its Q2 2019 results.

Canalys senior analyst Ben Stanton said that “few people would have predicted” the “remarkable result”.

"If it wasn't for COVID-19, it wouldn't have happened,” he added.

However, although impressive, the success was short-lived and largely credited to Huawei’s presence in China, where the markets were early to reopen following lockdown restrictions. By the end of Q2, Samsung managed to recover from the economic effects of the pandemic and reclaim the top spot.