Samsung Electronics expects record-high Q2 profits

Samsung Electronics said Friday it expects profits to jump 72 percent in the second quarter to a record high, amid soaring memory chip prices and increased demand for smartphones.

Operating profit is estimated at 14 trillion won ($12.1 billion) in the April-June period, up from 8.14 trillion won a year earlier, the tech giant said.

It marks the all-time high quarterly operating profit ever posted by Samsung Electronics, surpassing the previous record 10.1 trillion won set in the third quarter of 2013.

Sales for the April-June period are also expected to surge 17.8 percent on-year to 60 trillion won.

Samsung witholds sector-by-sector business performance until it releases its final earnings report later this month.

The earnings forecast surpassed a market consensus of around 13.2 trillion won compiled by FnGuide, a financial information service provider.