Samsung likely to report best Q4 profit on solid chip demand

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Samsung Electronics is seen at its office building in Seoul, South Korea South Korea, October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD

SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is likely to post a record fourth-quarter profit thanks to solid demand for server memory chips and higher margins in contract manufacturing, analysts' estimates showed. Operating profit for the world's biggest memory chip and smartphone maker likely hit 15.2 trillion won ($12.7 billion) in the quarter ended December, according to a Refinitiv SmartEstimate from 14 analysts, weighted toward those who are more consistently accurate. That would be up 68% from 9.05 trillion won a year earlier and narrowly beat the previous Q4 record profit of 15.15 trillion won reported in 2017.

Samsung Electronics' shares have climbed about 12% in the last two months in anticipation of higher memory chip prices this year, boosted by new data centres and demand for videos, games, conferencing and other streaming services.