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Strong Galaxy S21 sales drive Samsung to highest Q1 mobile profit in years
- Samsung’s mobile division achieved its highest Q1 2021 profit figure since 2014.
- The Galaxy S21 series buoyed the company’s mobile sales performance.
- Its Galaxy A series, tablets, and wearables also contributed to a strong quarter.
Judging by the data from several research firms, it seems that almost every tech company is enjoying a better start to 2021 than 2020. But some firms, like Samsung, are doing better than they’ve done even before the pandemic.
Samsung’s mobile phone business recorded a profit of 4.4 trillion won (~$3.9 billion) in Q1 2021 — the highest figure in this quarter in seven years, per Reuters. That’s also an increase of 66% year-over-year.
According to Samsung’s investor note, the “increased sales of flagship models” and “increased sales of mass-market models” were the main drivers, especially across the US and Japan. The company also calls out the Galaxy S21 series as a star performer.
The Galaxy S21 series’ success, at least over the ill-performing Galaxy S20 series, was evident pretty soon after launch. Galaxy S21 sales in Korea were reportedly 30% higher than its predecessor in its post-launch period. Over in the UK, the phone series also broke pre-order records for the company. They proved popular in the US early on, too. Three times as many Galaxy S21 devices were sold in its first month after release compared to the S20.
While the Galaxy S21 series improved on numerous aspects of the S20, it’s likely the lower list price and the world’s economic re-emergence from the pandemic aided the flagship’s growth.
Galaxy A series also performing
The flagship isn’t the only positive for Samsung, though. Although the company doesn’t delve into specifics, it also claims its mid-range devices enjoyed a strong performance in Q1 2021. Mid-to-low end devices are arguably Samsung’s weakness, as demonstrated by its 2020 performance in Africa. But the company expects its Galaxy A series to further bolster its financials in Q2 2021. It also forecasts accelerating sales for its wearable and tablet lines for the quarter.
However, Samsung cautions that the ongoing global chipset shortage and “weakening new product effects” could stagger its Q2 2021 revenue and future flagship sales.