Samsung Electronics expects record $12.8 bn Q3 operating profit

Samsung Electronics said Friday it expected profits to hit an all-time record in the third quarter to September as the South Korean IT giant enjoys booming semiconductor sales.

The company estimated operating profits of 14.5 trillion won ($12.8 billion) in the July-September period, an all-time record for quarterly profit and nearly triple the 5.2 trillion won earned a year earlier.

Sales are estimated to have surged 29.65 percent on-year to 62 trillion won.

Samsung did not announce the performance estimates of each business division but its semiconductor business is widely believed to have contributed greatly to the record-beating report.

The company is set to release its final earnings report later this month.

Samsung has been seeking to move past a bribery scandal which saw the company's de-facto head Lee Jae-Yong thrown into jail and overcome a damaging recall last year of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone over exploding batteries.

Lee, who was found guilty in August of bribery, perjury and other charges relating to payments made by Samsung to ousted president Park Geun-Hye's secret confidante Choi Soon-Sil, is appealing his five-year sentence and says he is innocent.