In guidance released on Friday, electronics giant Samsung issued lukewarm profit predictions for the fourth quarter 2015.
According to Samsung’s estimates, the company will see a profit of nearly 6.1 trillion Korean Won, or just under $5.1 billion, based on sales of 53 trillion Won ($44 billion).
Should it hold true, the forecast figures would represent a year-over-year profit increase of just over 15 percent. Sequentially, however, the numbers are a less than stellar decline of more than 17 percent.
Friday’s predictions are consistent with warnings from the company that were issued after a windfall third quarter that saw Samsung post its first earnings growth in over a year.
Samsung’s positive third-quarter results – in which the company posted a net income of $4.6 billion (5.3 trillion Won) – were driven primarily by the massive success of its chip business, which raked in $3.2 billion (3.66 trillion won) of the company’s $6.5 billion (7.4 trillion won) operating profits.
Following the August unveiling of the new Galaxy S6 Edge+, Note5, A8 and J5, the IDC estimated Samsung shipped 84.5 million smartphones during the third quarter, compared to just 8 million tablets in the same quarter.
Samsung said in its October earnings report that it was aiming to expand sales of its new phone models and expects to see a seasonal increase in tablet shipments in the fourth quarter.