SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics says its fourth quarter earnings more than doubled over a year earlier thanks to its brisk chip business.
The South Korean company said Tuesday it earned 7.1 trillion won ($6.1 billion) during the October-December period, compared with 3.2 trillion won a year earlier.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet, a financial data provider, expected 6.52 trillion won.
Sales stayed flat at 53.3 trillion won ($45.6 billion). Operating profit surged 50 percent over a year earlier to 9.2 trillion won ($7.9 billion), in line with Samsung's guidance earlier this month.
Samsung's earnings beat forecast even as it reels from the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco that cost at least $5 billion since the third quarter. On Monday, it blamed battery designs and manufacturing errors at suppliers for causing the phone to overheat.
