Samsung bounces back with surprise Q4 profits

Samsung Electronics posted profit that beat estimates as buoyant memory chip prices helped the world’s largest smartphone maker bounce back from the death of its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7.

Operating income rose 50 per cent to 9.2 trillion won ($7.8 billion) in the quarter ended December, its biggest profit in three years, the Suwon, South Korea-based company said in preliminary results Friday. That compares with the 8.29 trillion-won average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg in the past four weeks. Shares rose.

A persistent rise in chip prices spurred by Chinese demand and growth in displays using organic light-emit diodes mitigated the