October 17, 2003 – Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. wowed investors with a 3Q03 profit up 6.6% from last year, due to record sales of flash memory chips used in digital cameras and mobile devices.

Revenues of $9.7 billion mark a 15% gain from last year, and a 3Q03 net income of $1.57 billion exceeded analysts estimates of $1.41 billion.

The company’s semiconductor operations, which includes its TFT-LCD business, generated $1.1 billion in profit, a 53% gain from 3Q02 and a 137% increase from 2Q03.

“The numbers were much better than we had expected,” Kim Tae-woo, fund manager at Mirae Asset Management, told Reuters. “We expect the fourth quarter to be even better.”

The New York Times also reported that Samsung woul boost its 2003 capital spending on semiconductor and LCD production to nearly $6 billion, a 4-5% increase from previous estimates.