Samsung, the world's largest technology firm by revenue, fuelled concerns about flagging demand for high-end smartphones with a weaker-than-expected second quarter profit forecast.
The South Korean giant forecast 9.5 trillion won (£5.4bn) in operating profit for the April-June quarter, which would be a record but is less than the analyst expectations of more than 10 trillion won.
Shares in the firm lost more than 3pc following the forecast. Samsung has lost nearly £19.5bn in market value since mid-March, when it was due to launch the Galaxy S4 smartphone a month later.
Jeff Kim of Hyundai Securities, told AFP. "It's weaker than expected. Slow mobile sales, combined with hefty marketing costs for the flagship Galaxy S4 smartphones, undermined the bottom line,"
Investors are concerned that the company relies too heavily on IT and mobile business, which accounts for more than 70pc of its operating profit, at a time when the global outlook for this sector is not so bright, Jeff Kim said.
Several brokerages have downgraded Samsung and their earnings forecasts for the company on fears that the S4 is not selling as strongly as hoped.
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