South Korea's Samsung Electronics reported that second quarter net profit grew 51% compared with the same quarter last year, led by its liquid crystal display and mobile phone businesses.
'We posted very strong results,' Chu Woo-sik, EVP of investor relations, quoted by an Associated Press report, said.
Samsung earned 2.14 trillion won (€1.34 billion, US$2.12 billion) in the three months ended June 30, the company said. Sales during the quarter rose 24% on year to a record 18.14 trillion won (€11.47 billion,US$18 billion).
The result, however, failed to meet expectations, sending Samsung's stock price tumbling, the Associated Press report said.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast that Samsung would post net profit of 2.4 trillion won (€1.5 billion, US$2.4 billion) on sales of 18.5 trillion won (€11.7 billion, US$18.2 billion).
Shares in Samsung, which released the earnings results less than one hour after the market opened, fell 6.2% to close at 576,000 won (€364, US$568).
Lee Min-hee, an analyst at Dongbu Securities in Seoul, described Samsung's results as 'very disappointing,' citing weak performance in its mainstay computer memory chip business despite an increase in prices during the quarter.