Samsung releases new phone, posts record gain

SEOUL - Agence France-Presse

Samsung announced a 41.6 percent year-on-year surge in net profit to a record 7.15 trillion in the first quarter of 2013. AP photo

Samsung on April 26 released the latest version of its flagship Galaxy smartphone, as it announced record first-quarter profits driven by surging sales growth in its mobile division.

The release of the S4 came as Samsung announced a 41.6 percent year-on-year surge in net profit to a record 7.15 trillion won ($6.4 billion) in the first quarter of 2013.

Operating profit stood at 8.8 trillion won, of which the IT and Mobile Communications division accounted for 6.51 trillion won, with sales of 32.82 trillion won in the three months to March.

The Galaxy S4, armed with eye motion control technology that pauses a video when the user looks away, comes with a faster chip and is thinner and lighter than the previous S3 model.

Unveiled last month at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the touchscreen device hit South Korean stores on April 26 ahead of a global roll-out over the weekend. 

Samsung said unexpectedly high demand for the new model was behind shipping issues that resulted in the postponement of its scheduled sales release in the US market.