Samsung sees better second-half on improved demand for mobile phones

By Kim Young-gyo
SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. is expected to
see stronger results in the second half of this year as the global mobile phone
market is improving, a company executive said Tuesday.
"We are yet to release how many (handset) units we have sold in the second
quarter. What I can say right now is that we did better in this quarter than the
first quarter," said Shin Jong-kyun, senior executive vice president of Samsung
Electronics' wireless business division, at a press meeting.
"Samsung will show a better performance in the second half when the mobile phone
industry is likely to rebound," Shin said.
During the first three months, Samsung held an 18.7 share in the global handset
market, selling 45.8 million units worldwide, according to Boston-based market
researcher Strategy Analytics (SA).
In February, Shin said that the company aimed to sell a total of 200 million
units for a 20-percent market share.
"We will be able to achieve all these goals within this year," said Shin.
Samsung Electronics has been increasing its market presence by targeting the
premium phone category, including full touchscreen phones and smartphones.
The global market for high-end phones with touchscreens is expected to triple to
500 million units in 2012, compared with an anticipated 170 million units this
year, according to SA.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
(END)