Samsung expects first-quarter profits to rise 44%: analysts > Samsung on Wednesday said first-quarter profit likely rose 44%, with analysts attributing the surge to brisk sales of smartphones and TVs, albeit tempered by a likely fall in chip earnings after a storm halted US output. The South Korean technology giant forecast January-March operating profit of $8.32 billion, matching a weighted average analyst forecast from Refinitiv SmartEstimate. Reuters, analysts said Samsung’s mobile division likely saw operating profit soar more than 1 trillion won to about 4.15 trillion won after its flagship Galaxy S21 smartphone series outsold the previous version by a two-to-one margin in the six weeks since its January launch, according to research provider Counterpoint.