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Telecomunicaciones y tecnología

Samsung Elec Q3 net down 44 percent on weak chips


    SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd on Friday posted a 44 percent drop in third-quarter profit as persistent weakness in its memory business offset a solid performance in flat screens and mobile phones.

    Samsung, the world's top maker of memory chips and liquid crystal displays (LCDs), reported July-September net profit fell to 1.22 trillion won ($870.5 million) from 2.19 trillion won a year ago and 2.14 trillion won earned in April-June.

    The figure came in line with a forecast for a 1.23 trillion won net profit by 11 analysts polled by Reuters.

    Makers of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, mired in a downturn that started in early 2007, are not expecting a recovery before the second quarter of 2009.

    The future looks challenging for Samsung, which is facing a lengthy downturn in the once-reliable memory market and a rapid margin deterioration in the flat-screen sector, along with slowing demand for all consumer electronics.

    Shares in Samsung, South Korea's biggest company, fell 13.8 percent in the third quarter, in line with the wider market's 13.5 percent loss.

    (Reporting by Marie-France Han and Rhee So-eui; editing by Jonathan Hopfner and Keiron Henderson)