last year wherein it reported a steep rise in profit. The tech giant has posted a consolidated revenue of KRW 63.75 trillion and an operating profit of only KRW 0.64 trillion , mostly because its semiconductor business has reported record losses. Samsung's DS division, which operates its semiconductor and display businesses, reported a consolidated revenue of KRW 13.73 trillion . However, it also posted KRW 4.58 trillion in operating losses for the first quarter.
Overall demand for memory products has been decreasing over the past months, with the division reporting only KRW 0.27 trillion in operating profit for the fourth quarter of 2022. This quarter, Samsung blamed ongoing inventory adjustments, as well as the economic slowdown and the weakened customer spending that resulted from it for the decrease in overall demand.
Despite the loss in profits overall, Samsung's mobile division performed well in the first quarter. The company's MX and Networks businesses, which cover both mobile devices and telecommunication network equipment, posted KRW 31.82 trillion in consolidated revenue and KRW 3.94 trillion in operating profit. Samsung explained that while there was a low demand for smartphones overall, the market for premium devices grew year-over-year.