April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] US tech giant Apple stood as the world’s most profitable smartphone maker around the globe in the third quarter of 2017, data showed on Dec. 28, while Samsung Electronics managed to recoup losses sparked from the suspended production of the Galaxy Note 7.

Industry tracker Counterpoint said in its report Apple accounted for a whopping 59.8 percent of the combined profit generated from the global smartphone industry over the cited period, followed by Samsung Electronics with 25.9 percent.

The latest figure compares to the July-September period of 2016, when Apple took up 85.9 percent while Samsung accounted for none due to the ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, a flagship device which was short lived due to battery issues.

“The Korean vendor though with relatively stronger demand for Note 8 and mid-tier high-scale J series has been able to capture almost a fourth of the global mobile handset industry profits,” Counterpoint‘s Research Director, Neil Shah said in the report.

Counterpoint said Apple made US$151 for every smartphone sold over the third quarter, which hovers far above that of Samsung which made US$31. Chinese companies’ earnings per smartphone was estimated between US$13-15, the industry tracker added.

The researcher, however, said Chinese manufactures continued to expand their presence in the market.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)