SEOUL (Reuters)-
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd announced its first stock split on Wednesday and said it expects semiconductor demand to remain strong in 2018 as it reports record annual profits
Called "Super memory chip"cycle.
"The tech giant's stock split is the latest in a series of initiatives to increase shareholder returns, including five. 8 trillion won ($5. 4 billion)
Annual dividend 9.
The share repurchase and write-off in 2017 was 2 trillion won.
While there is concern that the memory business may peak, the company's generosity encourages investors to hold shares.
The split will also open the door for retail investors to increase liquidity and support valuations, analysts said.
Jin Cheng said: "Stock segmentation is a surprise for me.
Soo, fund manager of LS Asset Management, which owns a stake in Samsung, pointed out that Samsung had previously dismissed calls from investors to split its shares.
"This will not have an impact on the fundamentals of the company, but it will increase the supply of stocks and have a positive impact on stocks.
In the fourth quarter of last year, global leaders in television, storage chips and smartphones made 53 annual operating profits. 7 trillion won ($50. 2 billion)
In 2017, the record for the previous 36 years was exceeded.
Won 8 trillion in 2013.
While profits were expected, shares soared more than 8% after the company announced a split.
They shut down the army. 2 percent.
This is good news for shareholders, and Samsung has eased concerns that the huge expansion of the global semiconductor business may be gradually weakening, saying the outlook for 2018 is still strong.
Chip makers such as Samsung, South Korean rivals SK Hynix Inc. and Intel have been driving the boom in semiconductor sales as the world is increasingly demanding data center processing power
The tech smartphone and blockchain ledger behind cryptocurrency.
"Look in the middle --to-
"In the long run, Samsung expects the component business to see an expansion in demand from new applications," Samsung said in a statement . ".
In the three months ended December, Samsung's operating profit rose 64% year-on-year to 15.
15 trillion won ($14. 13 billion)
, In line with its forecast.
The chip business, Samsung's highest-grossing business last year, generated a record £ 35 operating profit.
2 trillion won, more than doubled profits
Only one year in the fourth quarter.
Samsung said shipments of DRAM and NAND flash chips are expected to continue to grow
Growth in 2018 was around 20% and 40% respectively.
The OEM business of producing chips will jump from fourth to "first market"
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. , Ltd (TSMC)
In 2018, part of the reason was the boom in cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that uses encryption technology for secure transactions.
The technology requires powerful chips to verify transactions.
Earlier this month, TSMC said it expects the cryptocurrency market to push up demand for high-density currencies.
Terminal chips, which helped it generate record revenues this year, outweighed the weak sales of smartphone vendors.
Samsung Mobile, which competes with Apple, reported operating profit of 2.
In the fourth quarter, 4 trillion won, down 3% month on month.
The release of the Galaxy S9 flagship smartphone next month should minimize any surprises
The company said demand was weak in the first quarter of this year.
However, Tom Kang, research director at data provider Counterpoint, said Samsung's smartphone outlook was uncertain due to competition from Chinese competitors in markets such as Europe and Asia.
It is reported that Samsung's display business for Apple's OLED screen is 1.
Fourth quarter earnings of 4 trillion won, an increase of 5% over the same period last year.
KwonYoung Choi, vice president of Samsung's display division, denied reports that Apple will cut iPhone X production in the first three months of this year due to weak sales, saying that the screen business does not rely on any one customer.
Samsung spent a record 43.
Capital expenditure of 4 trillion won last year to boost production of memory chips and organic lightLEDs (OLED)screens.
As a result, capital expenditure will decline in 2018, the report said.