Samsung Elec says Q2 profit likely rose 23%

Samsung Electronics looks set to report its best quarterly profit since 2018.

It flagged a 23% rise in second-quarter operating profit on Tuesday (July 6), beating analyst forecasts.

The surge is thanks to solid chip sales to data centres catering for a work-from-home economy.

That's offset weak demand for smartphones and televisions.

One-off gains from its display business, which has Apple as a customer, also boosted profits.

The world's top memory-chip and smartphone maker said operating profit would likely come in at $6.8 billion for the quarter ending in June.

Work-from-home orders and growth in online learning have helped push up DRAM memory chip prices.

And other chipmakers are seeing similar growth.

Some analysts though say increases in memory chip prices may not continue in the second half of the year, as data centres are likely to be more conservative in stockpiling.

The South Korean tech giant's resilient earnings came even as its leader, Jay Y. Lee, faces fresh legal troubles.

Prosecutors are investigating Lee on suspicion of accounting fraud and stock price manipulation to win control of Samsung Group - South Korea's largest conglomerate.

Lee's attorneys have denied the allegations.