Samsung is Virtually Tied With Apple, Sells 36.5M Smartphones in Q4

From DailyTech: Samsung Electronics Comp., Ltd.'s (KS:005930) created a lot of excitement, when it hinted at a blowout quarter, in pre-earnings talk. But that excitement has since been overshadowed by Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) own record-setting 3 months. Now Samsung has popped back into the picture, with its actual earnings results.

After jumping out to a substantial 65 percent sales lead over Apple in Q3 2011, Samsung is now in a virtual tie with its surging rival in global sales. Samsung moved 36.5 million units in Q4 2011, compared to 37 million from Apple.

Smartphone sales were a boon for Samsung, whose telecommunications unit reported 17.82T Won (~$15.33B USD) in revenue. That's approximate 38 percent of the South Korean electronics conglomerate's total 47.3T Won (~$42.14B USD) in sales. The unit also pulled in net revenue (profit) of 2.64T Won (~$2.35B USD), over half of Samsung's total profit of 5.30T Won (~$4.72B USD). Overall the telecom unit’s revenue was up 52 percent versus last year, while profit was up 79 percent.

While Samsung's budget feature phones continue to surge in sales, creeping towards Nokia, its iconic smartphones are drawing the most attention. Samsung was the first OEM to sell an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich phone in the U.S., launching the Galaxy Nexus around Christmas time. Its Galaxy S II lineup continues to sell strongly, as well.

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