Samsung, the No. 2 maker of cell phones, is feeling the pressure of the economic slowdown. The company reported second quarter earnings of $2.1 billion, up 51 percent over the same quarter a year ago but its cell phone division reported an operating profit margin of 12.8 percent, which is down from 15.5 percent in the first quarter. The company shipped 45.7 million units during the quarter, up from 37.4 million in the year ago quarter but slightly below the 46.3 million it shipped in the first quarter.
Samsung executives said that they expect the cell phone profits to remain under pressure and the company's year-on-year growth will likely slow in the second half of the year. Nevertheless, the company does expect to meet its target of shipping 200 million units in 2008.
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