By Rhee So-eui
SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics <005930.KS>, the world's top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, expects rapidly recovering demand for its premium computer memory chips and flat TVs to drive growth this year, in an ominous sign for its Japanese rivals.
South Korea's biggest company was confident demand for its memory chips and TVs would grow briskly this year, with TV demand driven by China, but warned that a rising won currency and the potential end to global stimulus measures could hurt sales.
Analysts played down the threat of the stronger won which has risen 35 percent off its low last March. They said it would have to climb above 1000 yen to the dollar from 1158 currently to really hit sales.
"The won will be much stronger than a year earlier in terms of the average value, even if it stays at the current level this year, but this won't be a big drag on Samusung's overall performance," said Lee Min-Hee, an analyst at Dongbu Securities.
Deepening competition in smartphones poses challenges, while Japanese TV rivals such as Sony Corp <6758.T> and Panasonic Corp <6752.T> are beefing up their line-ups to claw back market share, against Samsung's goal of selling 2 million 3D TVs this year.
However, at the same time Apple Inc's
"Semiconductors will drive Samsung's earnings this year ... Consumer fever for Apple's iPhone and new tablet product is likely to help Samsung's chip business," said Won Sang-Phil, market analyst at Tong Yang Securities in Seoul.
Samsung, also the world's biggest TV brand and No. 2 mobile phone maker, swung to a quarterly operating profit, slightly ahead of market forecasts, as the tech sector recovery boosted chip prices and shoppers snapped up TVs and mobile phones.
Its bigger rival in mobile phones, Nokia
Samsung expects to achieve a double digit profit margin in mobile phones in 2010, at least matching the 10 percent margin it had last year.
Operating profit in the fourth quarter rose to 3.7 trillion won ($3.21 billion), beating a consensus forecast for 3.58 trillion won profit from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S and exactly in line with the company's own forecast earlier this month.
Samsung shares were down 2.5 percent at 788,000 won after the result, in line with earlier trading knocked by a weak finish for U.S. tech stocks after Motorola's disappointing forecast.
Fourth quarter sales rose 19 percent to 39.2 trillion won.
Hynix Semiconductor Inc <000660.KS>, No. 2 in memory chips, last week reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and forecast a further recovery in the sector.
Shares in Samsung shot up 77 percent last year, well ahead of the broader market's 50 percent gain, but underperformed in the fourth quarter on concerns about the strengthening Korean won hurting exports.
(Additional reporting by Shin Ji-eun and Yoo Choon-sik)
(Writing by Sonali Paul; Editing by Dean Yates and Jonathan Hopfner)
