Samsung To Ship Half A Billion Phones In 2013
Samsung expects to sell 510 million phones in 2013, the company announced on Wednesday. Samsung says most of those devices will be smart phones, cementing the company’s status as the world’s biggest phone manufacturer.
Apple sold 26.9 million iPhones in its fiscal Q4 2012 (or calendar year Q3 2012). The street consensus for the current quarter is somewhere between 46 and 48 million iPhones, based on strong demand for the new iPhone 5.
Samsung says three out of four devices it is on course to sell in the next twelve months will be smartphones and predicts an overall 20 per cent jump in phone sales on 2012.
Research firm Gartner, however, reckons Samsung might be just a little over optimistic in its forecasts. It has predicted the company’s phone sales in 2013 are likely to fall somewhere between 250 million and 300 million, though that’s still a quantum leap on the mere 23.9 million it sold just two years ago in 2010.
[quote]”Samsung’s proven ability to quickly produce and replace a wide range of handsets aimed at several different markets contrasts with Nokia’s struggles and Apple’s difficulties that are mainly related to parts sourcing problems,” said Hwang Min-seong, an analyst at Samsung Securities.[/quote]
As it gears up for further expansion Samsung, meanwhile, is expanding its manufacturing base beyond its own shores and into Vietnam, China and India where the lion’s share of new phones will be made.
