Seoul, Korea – The Digital Media sector at Samsung Electronics – which includes DVD players, computers and digital televisions – posted sales of $2 billion in the first quarter, up slightly over 5 percent, compared with the $1.9 billion registered in the first quarter of 2001.
Operating income for the Digital Media division in the first quarter reached $153.1 million, down a bit from the $160.6 million recorded the same three months last year.
Robust demand for mobile phones pushed first-quarter sales in Samsung’s Information and Telecommunications division to $2.2 billion, a 47 percent increase, compared with $1.5 billion in the year-ago period.
Operating income for the phones segment reached $612.1 million in the first three months, up from the $175.9 million registered in the first three months of 2001.
Consumer demand for mobile phones as well as recovery in chip prices helped boost Samsung’s consolidated first-quarter sales to $7.6 billion, yet, this figure still was down from the $8.3 billion registered in the first three months of 2001.
Pre-tax income in the first quarter was $1.8 billion, compared with $1.3 billion in the year-ago period.
Sales in the first quarter climbed 17 percent over the $6.5 billion registered in the fourth quarter of 2001.
