Samsung profit tumbles by 69% in historic drop on chip price falls

The crisis in the memory chip market has been further exacerbated by US sanctions on some chip-related exports to China, hurting demand from some of Samsung's key clients

Samsung Electronics Co.’s profit dropped by 69% in its worst fall in more than a decade, as an economic slowdown pummeled memory chip prices and demand for IT gadgets and servers.
 

Operating profit fell to 4.3 trillion won ($3.4 billion) for the three months ended December, according to a company statement, missing the average estimate of 6.7 trillion won by analysts. Sales fell to 70 trillion won. Samsung is slated to provide a full financial statement with net income and information on divisional performance on Jan. 31. 

South Korea’s largest company has been grappling with weak demand for memory chips, smartphones