Samsung Electronics achieved its best performance ever in 2021, achieving record sales across all sectors including semiconductors, smartphones, and home appliances.

Samsung Electronics announced its fourth quarter 2021 business performance on the 27th.

According to this, based on consolidated financial statements, sales in the fourth quarter of 2021 were KRW 76.5655 trillion, up 24.4% year-on-year, and operating profit was KRW 13.8668 trillion, up 53.3% year-on-year. Net income for the period was KRW 10.838 trillion, up 64% year-on-year.

Sales in the fourth quarter increased mainly due to the set business, including increased sales of premium smartphones such as foldable phones and brisk sales of TVs and home appliances during the peak season at the end of the year. Operating profit significantly improved year-on-year, mainly due to semiconductors.

Based on this, total sales in 2021 were KRW 279.6048 trillion, an 18.1% increase from the previous year, and operating profit was KRW 51.6339 trillion, an increase of 43.5% from the previous year. Net income increased 51.1% year-on-year to KRW 39.9075 trillion.

Samsung Electronics achieved record sales in 2021 based on differentiated products and technological competitiveness despite continued uncertainty. All four quarters of 2021 recorded the highest sales for the respective quarters, and on an annual basis, it also renewed its highest sales ever.

Looking at the performance by business in the fourth quarter, semiconductors recorded sales of KRW 26.1 trillion and operating profit of KRW 8.84 trillion in the fourth quarter.

Memory's performance slightly decreased compared to the previous quarter due to a slight decrease in the average selling price (ASP), as it refrained from excessive sales expansion in consideration of future market conditions and inventory levels. Compared to the same period last year, its performance significantly improved due to the expansion of advanced processes and an increase in ASP.

The foundry achieved its highest quarterly sales with an overall increase in supply, but its profitability slightly decreased compared to the previous quarter due to increased costs of advanced processes. Compared to the same period last year, its performance improved due to the operation of the Pyeongtaek S5 line and the effect of price adjustments.

The display division recorded sales of 9.6 trillion won and operating profit of 1.32 trillion won.

Small and medium-sized panels saw their performance grow compared to the previous quarter due to continued strong demand for new smartphone products from major customers and increased sales in new applications. Large-sized panels saw their deficits widen significantly due to falling LCD prices and the initial costs of QD displays.

The IM (IT & Mobile Communications) division recorded sales of KRW 28.95 trillion and operating profit of KRW 2.66 trillion.

MX (Mobile eXperience) saw a slight increase in sales due to increased sales of premium smartphones such as foldable phones and solid sales of Galaxy ecosystem products such as PCs, tablets, and wearables. Operating profit decreased compared to the previous quarter due to increased marketing expenses at the end of the year, but increased compared to the same period last year. The network's performance improved compared to the previous quarter due to growth in domestic and overseas business sales.

The CE (Consumer Electronics) division recorded sales of KRW 15.35 trillion and operating profit of KRW 70 billion.

It achieved its highest quarterly sales ever thanks to brisk sales of premium products during the year-end peak season, but profits decreased slightly compared to the previous quarter due to rising logistics costs.

Global IT demand is expected to recover in 2022. Samsung Electronics plans to expand advanced processes in the components business and enhance its next-generation product and technology leadership. In the set business, it plans to continuously strengthen its premium leadership and product lineup while strengthening consistent and convenient connectivity between devices to provide a new user experience.

In addition, we plan to pursue partnerships, secure technologies, and make various investments for leadership in future growth areas such as 5G, AI, cloud, IoT, and metaverse.

However, the possibility of disruption in the supply of parts and uncertainty related to COVID-19 are expected to persist.

Memory has uncertainties such as supply and demand issues for parts, but demand is expected to increase due to increased IT investment by companies and the introduction of new CPUs. Samsung Electronics plans to focus on strengthening its market leadership by expanding the supply of high-performance products and leading the application of the EUV (Extreme Ultra-Violet) process.

System LSI plans to expand its business in earnest by strengthening its SoC lineup, including volume zone models for 5G. The foundry aims to achieve growth exceeding the market average by focusing on expanding its technology leadership through mass production of the first-generation GAA (Gate-All-Around) process and expanding supply to global customers.

For small and medium-sized displays, OLED demand is expected to increase due to the spread of 5G smartphones and the expansion of the foldable market, and the company plans to strengthen its stable growth foundation by expanding OLED supply to new applications. For large-sized displays, the company will focus on securing technology leadership in premium product groups through QD displays, and the LCD line will end production as planned.

MX plans to focus on flagship product innovation and strengthening differentiated experiences. In addition, it will focus on expanding its market share by expanding its mid-priced 5G smartphone lineup, and promote sales expansion by enhancing customer value of Galaxy ecosystem products. Networks will actively pursue 5G network expansion and global new orders, and continue to strengthen technological competitiveness such as 5G core chip development.

The visual display and home appliance sector plans to strengthen sales of premium products such as Neo QLED and Bespoke, as well as lifestyle and new home appliance products. Through this, the company plans to solidify its market leadership and pursue performance growth.