Samsung has reported record Q4 2012 profits largely thanks to very strong sales of its smartphone range, which cements its position as the number one mobile manufacturer in the world.
Only this year Samsung surpassed Apple as the biggest provider of smartphones in the world, which is all the more impressive when you consider that Samsung has been in the Mobile arena a very short time. Mobile phones are now the technology company's biggest source of revenue.
Results for Q4 came out at 5.2 trillion won, up 73 percent from the same time last year, whilst total profits for 2011 ended at a whopping 16.2 trillion won.
Recent results for Samsung sales stands 27.8 million smartphones sold compared to at Apple who shifted 17.1 million devices globally in the same quarter. This currently gives Apple a 14.6 per cent market share, while Samsung whilst Samsung is well in the lead with 23.8 per cent of the market.
The impact of the iPhone 4S has yet to be realised however, and sales between the two companies can appear swewed as Apple generally only releases one handet a year compared to Samsung's plethora.
And this trend is set to continue with Samsung shipping around 35 million units in the fourth quarter it's expecting very decent sales despite the recession. The battle will no doubt continue between Apple and Samsung, and not just on the basis of who can produce and sell the most devices, as the courts are coming into play to decide patent disputes with 2011 seeing around 30 lawsuits.
