Business
Samsung VC’s Europe visit could boost semiconductor and M&A opportunities
Samsung Electronics vice-chairman Lee Jae-Yong is expected to travel to Europe for business purposes during the lunar New Year holiday to enhance cooperation in the semiconductor business as well as pursue potential M&A opportunities.
According to South Korean media TheKoreaTimes, Lee is preparing to embark on such a trip this weekend during the Lunar New Year Holidays. He commented that he would be touring Europe late last year, but that tour was suspended due to the rapid spread of the Omicron version.
If the vice chairman’s visit to Europe is realistic, systems semiconductors are expected to become its main focus, as Samsung Electronics has pledged to become a global leader in the region by 2030. The company operates a Pyeongtaek plant in Texas and the U.S., which is expanding its production capacity.
During his last European visit in October 2020, Lee visited ASML headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and met with CEO Peter Wenink and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Martin van den Brink to discuss cooperation plans.
Subsequently, Lee opened the door to Samsung Electronics to obtain reservations for ultraviolet (EUV) devices. Lee also has the opportunity to discuss M&As on a large scale in Europe.
Samsung Electronics’ cash reserves exceed 100 trillion won, and analog semiconductor companies such as NXP in the Netherlands, Infinite Technologies in Germany and STMicroelectronics in Switzerland are the most likely candidates for M&A. In addition, Vice Chairman Han’s trip to Europe after CES will add to the significance of Lee’s trip to Europe this week.
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Samsung remained the king in the Q2 2024 market, but Apple and Xiaomi are getting closer. IDC market research data shows that Samsung led the worldwide smartphone market in the second quarter of the year and Chinese brands scored rapid growth.
According to IDC, Samsung sold 53.9 million devices in the second quarter. The company occupied an 18.9% market share internationally. The company has slightly improved its sales share up from 53.5 million units in the same period last year.
The data suggests that Apple ranked second in terms of global volume sales. The iPhone maker shipped 45.2 million devices in Q2, 2024. It captured a market share of 15.8%, a modest increase from 44.5 million shipments in the second quarter of last year.
Third comes Xiaomi. The Chinese brand saw massive growth in sales year over year. It had sold 42.3 million smartphones in the second quarter alone. It’s a big jump from 33.2 million units shipped in Q2 2023, becoming a potential threat to Apple and Samsung.
Apart from this, Vivo also recorded significant growth in the global market. The company’s year-over-year growth in Q2 was 21.9%, with sales listing 25.9 million units with a market share of 9.1%. The growth percentage shows that aggressive marketing and boasting competitive specs into devices is paying off.
Samsung, Apple’s game isn’t over…
Last week, Samsung launched its new foldable phones, releasing on July 24, 2024. Apple, on the other hand, is expected to launch new flagship iPhones in September. It means, Samsung will enjoy the third quarter as well. The fourth quarter might be of Apple as iPhone sales would sharply grow in the global market given the new lineup release.
Samsung is now preparing to unveil new FE products later this year, followed by the S25 series in early next year. Chinese brands are expected to debut their latest flagships in the last quarter of this year, while Google Pixel phones are also coming in August.
Samsung today announced provisional sales and profit results for the second quarter. Samsung formally announced the provisional/predicted sales and operating profit, suggesting a massive profit boom in Q2, 2024 given the AI memory semiconductor rise.
In Q2, 2024, Samsung sales provisionally increased by 2.89% and operating profit by 57.34% compared to the previous quarter thanks to AI boom. Besides, the sales climbed by 23.31% and operating profit by 1,452.24% compared to the same period last year.
The company expects sales of 74 trillion won and operating profit of 10.4 trillion won on a consolidated basis. While these results are not final, there won’t be much change in the final result when it comes out. Samsung had a pretty profitable period in the second quarter.
Samsung in Q2
- Consolidated Sales: Approximately 74 trillion Korean won
- Consolidated Operating Profit: Approximately 10.4 trillion Korean won
The Korean tech giant is currently facing yield issues in its second-generation 3nm process. The flagship Exynos processor is unlikely to be commercialized this year. It would lead the Mobile business to face additional burdens due to rising prices of Snapdragon chipsets.
Meanwhile, Samsung is focussing on HBM (high bandwidth memory) semiconductors. HBM is a key player in artificial intelligence servers and data centers. The booming AI market will directly benefit Samsung’s semiconductor business.
Samsung ranked first in market share in the global smartphone market in Q3, 2023. TrendForce report says that Samsung led the global Q3 smartphone market, recording a market share of 19.5%.
Overall production in the third quarter increased by 11.5% compared to the previous quarter to 60.1 million units. During the same period, Apple’s production increased by 17.9% to 49.5 million, thanks to iPhone 15.
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Third place was taken by Xiaomi (13.9%), followed by Oppo (12.6%) and Transion (8.6%). 6th place is Vivo (8%). Meanwhile, global smartphone production reached 308 million units, a 13% increase compared to the previous quarter and a 6.4% increase from the previous year.
Huawei’s re-entry into the flagship smartphone market targeting Apple has had a significant impact in China. Huawei is aiming to expand its high-end flagship series, focusing on the Chinese domestic market next year, so Apple “We plan to attack directly”.
// Source