Samsung Electronics' stock price fell to its lowest level since October 2014 as new smartphones unveiled by the company last week failed to ignite analysts' enthusiasm.
The South Korean vendor's stock price fell 3.2 per cent in trading in Seoul today as analysts in the city predicted the company's Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Note 5 smartphones would not halt a decline in profit, Bloomberg reported.
Samsung hoped to steal a march on smartphone rival Apple by unveiling its new devices earlier than in previous years at events held in the U.S. and Europe last week. Apple is tipped to unveil its latest iPhone models in September.
A Seoul-based Dongbu Securities analyst told Bloomberg that the Samsung events were a disappointment, and that new smartphones alone would not be enough to spur growth in profits.
The news agency noted that Samsung's earnings have declined for five quarters in a row, with second quarter profits falling short of analysts' expectations on lower than expected sales of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge that were unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in March.
Samsung has yet to confirm if the Note 5 smartphone will be launched in Europe, after the device was omitted from its unveiling event in London.
Daniel Gleeson, senior analyst at IHS Technology, said the decision could be counterproductive by denying subscribers in Europe the option to purchase the only smartphone in Samsung's range to include a separate stylus. He speculated Samsung may have left the Note 5 out of its European plans to simplify the role of marketing the Galaxy S6 Edge+, and also ease pressure on its component supply chain.
The South Korean vendor also unveiled its Samsung Pay mobile payment service during the smartphone launch events, announcing the service would go live in its domestic market on Aug. 20 before being deployed in the U.S. and Europe from late September onwards, Business Korea reported.
Samsung hopes the service will lure customers away from Apple Pay -- the U.S. company's mobile payment service which launched in the UK in July.
For more:
- see this Bloomberg report
- read this Business Korea article
- view this Samsung announcement
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