Rising chip prices fuel Samsung's best quarterly profit in 3 years

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, August 25, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Friday flagged a 28% jump in its third-quarter operating profit to the highest in three years, driven by rising memory chip prices and display sales for new flagship smartphone launches.

The preliminary result was up 26% from the second quarter, although just below forecasts, while the market reaction was further muted as analysts pencilled in a flat or slightly lower result this quarter on an expected fall in memory chip prices.