Samsung’s Vice Chairman, Jun Young-hyun, the new head of the company’s Device Solutions Division, issued a rare apology on Tuesday following the company’s disappointing third-quarter profit guidance. The apology came as Samsung projected an operating profit of approximately 9.10 trillion Korean won ($6.8 billion) for the quarter ending in September, falling short of analysts’ expectations.
LSEG analysts had predicted an operating profit of 11.456 trillion won ($7.7 billion) for the period ending September 30. The shortfall marks a notable miss for the South Korean tech giant, particularly in its memory chip division.
Samsung attributed the disappointing performance to a combination of factors affecting its memory segment. These included “one-time costs and negative impacts” related to inventory adjustments from its mobile clients and increased competition from Chinese memory manufacturers, who are supplying older products in larger volumes.
Jun Young-hyun’s apology underscores the gravity of the situation for Samsung, a leader in the global memory chip market. The apology highlights the company’s need to address challenges in its core business areas, which have faced setbacks amid broader market conditions.
Read the full apology, translated by Google and CNBC, below:
Dear customers, investors, and employees who have always loved Samsung Electronics.
Today, the management of Samsung Electronics would like to apologize to you first.
We have caused concerns about our fundamental technological competitiveness and the future of the company due to our performance falling short of the market’s expectations. Many people are talking about Samsung’s crisis. We, who are leading the business, are responsible for all of this.
Customers, investors, and employees.
Samsung, however, has always turned crises into opportunities, having a history of challenge, innovation, and overcoming.
We will definitely make the dire situation we are currently facing an opportunity for a leap forward.
Our management will take the lead in overcoming the crisis.
Above all, we will restore our fundamental technological competitiveness. Technology and quality are our lifeblood. It is Samsung Electronics’ pride that we can never compromise on. Rather than short-term solutions, we will secure fundamental competitiveness. Furthermore, I believe that only new technologies that do not exist in the world and perfect quality competitiveness are the only ways for Samsung Electronics to make a comeback.
Second, we will prepare for the future more thoroughly. We will rekindle our unique passion to pioneer the future without fear and to cling to our goals until the end and achieve them. We will re-arm ourselves with a challenging spirit to run toward a higher goal, rather than a defensive mindset to protect what we have.
Third, we will look again at our organizational culture and working methods and immediately fix what needs to be fixed. We will rebuild our traditional organizational culture of trust and communication. If we find problems in the field, we will expose them as they are and have fierce discussions to improve them. In particular, we will actively communicate with our investors whenever we have the opportunity.
Dear customers, investors, and employees.
If we fiercely challenge ourselves, we are confident that we can turn the current crisis into a new opportunity. Please give us your support and encouragement so that Samsung Electronics can once again demonstrate its strength.
Thank you.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman
Head of Device Solutions Division
Jun Young-hyun
Featured Image courtesy of Medium
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