Samsung Electronics Reports 18% Jump in Q2 Operating Profit

Samsung Electronics Co. reported its biggest quarterly operating profit in more than two years Thursday, boosted by robust sales of its latest premium smartphone and cost-cutting efforts. 
The world's largest maker of smartphones and semiconductors earned 8.14 trillion won about (US$7.19 billion) in the April-June period, up 18.06% from the same period the year before, according to South Korea's (Yonhap) News Agency. 
Second-quarter net profit rose 1.65% on year to 5.84 trillion won. Sales gained 4.94% to 50.9 trillion won, Samsung said in a regulatory filing. 
The handsome results of Samsung were in contrast to those of Apple Inc., which reported a 15% drop in quarterly sales earlier this week due to slow sales of its iPhones. 
The popularity of the Galaxy S7 smartphone helped Samsung enjoy its most profitable quarter in more than two years. 
Samsung's smartphone business division posted an operating profit of 4.3 trillion won for the second quarter, while its semiconductor division reported an operating profit of 2.6 trillion won.