Samsung Electronics posts 8% fall in second quarter net profit

Samsung Electronics posted an 8.0 percent fall in second quarter net profit on less than stellar sales of its flagship smartphone and stiff competition from cheaper Chinese rivals.  

The world's largest smartphone maker said net profit for the April-June period stood at 5.75 trillion won ($4.9 billion), down from 6.25 trillion won a year ago and below analyst estimates.

Operating profit shrank 4.03 percent from a year ago to 6.9 trillion won, while sales dropped 7.3 percent to 48.5 trillion won.

The South Korean giant has seen profits sag since late 2013 due to heightened competition in an increasingly saturated smartphone market that it had dominated for years.

Samsung has faced a double challenge from US arch-rival Apple in the high-end smartphone market and rising Chinese firms like Xiaomi in the mid- and low-end market.

Hopes of a turnaround had largely been pinned on the sixth edition of its flagship smartphone launched in April.

The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge with a wraparound screen received rave reviews, but company predictions of record sales fell short of expectations, partly due to production and supply constraints.