Samsung Electronics says its 2Q profits plunge 20 percent

SEOUL, South Korea – Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday that its second-quarter profit dropped 20 percent as smartphone and tablet sales fell.

Its net income during the April-June quarter was 6.3 trillion won ($6.1 billion), compared with 7.8 trillion won a year earlier.

That was the lowest since the second quarter of 2012 and below forecasts. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast 6.5 trillion won income.

Samsung had warned that the second quarter would be the worst in two years as its handset business halted growth. It struggled with cheap smartphone business, which is the fastest-growing smartphone segment.

According to research firm IDC, Samsung shipped 74.3 million smartphones during the second quarter, down 4 percent from a year earlier, even as the overall smartphone market expanded 23 percent. Samsung was still the largest supplier of smartphones but profits took a dent.

Sales fell 9 percent to 52.4 trillion won while operating profit sank 25 percent to 7.2 trillion won, in line with Samsung's guidance earlier this month.

Samsung said its capital expenditure would be 24 trillion won, including 14.4 trillion won in its semiconductor division.