SEOUL Reuters -- Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported its lowest quarterly profit in eight years on Tuesday and said persistent macroeconomic uncertainty will make for a tough first half year, although demand is likely to start to recover in the second half.
The 4.3 trillion won $3.49 billion operating profit was Samsung's lowest quarterly profit since 2014. Revenue fell 8% to 70.5 trillion won.
In the same month a year earlier, the company's chip business fell to 270 billion won from 8.83 trillion won in the same month.
Memory chip prices, which fell by double-digit percentages in 2022, are expected to decline further in the first quarter as customers hold off purchases and use up existing inventory while device demand remains depressed.
Intel Corp said last week it expects to lose money in the current quarter, as the personal computer industry suffers from a chip glut.
Micron Technology Inc and SK Hynix Inc have already said they will slash their investment in 2023, and they have already said they will do so.
The investor will be watching for whether Samsung will avoids mentioning a direct chip production cut - as is its usual position - or rather gives a clear signal of production cuts given the severity of the memory chip down-cycle.