Covid-19 may hurt Samsung's profit in the memory chip business this quarter
The coronavirus -driven global shift to working from home is set to have boosted demand for Samsung Electronics ' memory chips from laptop makers and data centres, but first-quarter profits are likely to remain flat as the outbreak weakened consumer electronics sales. The South Korean tech giant is the world's largest memory chip maker, and its Galaxy smartphones are a major rival of Apple Inc's products. Samsung, which also makes home appliances and displays, on Tuesday releases guidance for the January-March quarter profit which is widely expected to be unchanged, and come under pressure in the next few quarters as the impact of coronavirus-related factory and retail stores shutdowns bites. "The visibility for Samsung's earnings is low for the second quarter," said Lee Do-hoon, an analyst at CIMB Research. Read More