三星漫长的国际化噩梦暂告终结

    你相信吗？

    近两年来业绩差强人意的三星公司终于时来运转。问题在于，这种势头能否持续下去。

    三星是全球最大的智能手机制造商，同时也为多家竞争对手提供配件。2015财年第三季度，该公司的计算机芯片和显示器销量强势上扬，营业利润也比一年前有了明显提高。在截至9月30日的3个月中，三星的营业利润增长80%，达到7.3万亿韩元（63亿美元），收入增长7.5%，达到51万亿韩元。鉴于三星公司对韩国经济的丰厚回报和巨大影响，这次成功反弹也推动韩元汇率升至过去两个月的最高点。

    三星如日中天的时光并不遥远。该公司基于谷歌安卓移动操作系统推出的Galaxy S系列手机，一度在智能手机领域占据统治地位。但近年来，这家消费电子巨头开始遭遇困境：中国企业的低成本产品在低端市场占据了优势，苹果则凭借巨大的品牌力量在高端市场凌驾于三星之上。与此同时，充满质疑的新闻标题层出不穷。一篇文章的标题是：三星已将Galaxy S5视为失败之作。另一篇的标题则是：三星Galaxy S6会是烂机吗？

    三星及其同行所面对的宏观趋势并没有发生变化。全球对智能手机的需求持续下降，智能手机制造商意识到，全球已经有一半人口拥有智能手机。对三星这个全球最大的芯片制造商之一而言，这没什么关系——只要在售手机安装的是三星芯片就可以了。

    这就是正在发生的事实。据分析师估算，三星的芯片部门在第三财季为公司贡献了一半利润。三星还为中国智能手机制造商供应屏幕，这一业务带来的销售额也为利润提升做出了一定贡献。

    目前尚不清楚三星Galaxy S6手机能否交出一份靓丽的成绩单。就在此前一个季度（即第二财季），三星的收益并未达到分析师预期，部分原因在于三星机型销售低迷。业内观察家分析的原因之一是：iPhone的表现太好了。（财富中文网）

    译者：严匡正

    审校：任文科

    Can you believe it?

    After almost two years of less-than-impressive earnings, Samsung’s fortunes have reversed. The question is whether they’ll stay that way.

    For its fiscal third quarter 2015, Samsung—the world’s largest smartphone maker and supplier of components to many of its rivals—reported strong sales of computer chips and displays and an operating profit that dwarfed the same result from a year ago. Samsung’s operating profit for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose 80% to about 7.3 trillion Korean won, or $6.3 billion, and its revenue rose about 7.5% to 51 trillion won. Given the company’s largesse and outsize impact to its home country’s economy, that success translated to South Korea’s won rising to its highest level in almost two months.

    It wasn’t that long ago that Samsung was on a tear, riding Google’s Android mobile operating system to smartphone-sector dominance with its Galaxy S handsets. But in recent years the company found itself in a difficult position: outflanked at the bottom of the market by Chinese companies offering low-cost devices and outmatched at the top of the market by Apple and its enormous brand power. Meanwhile, the headlines rolled in: Samsung Galaxy S5 officially a flop, wrote one. Is Samsung’s Galaxy S6 a flop? asked another.

    None of the macro trends affecting Samsung and its peers appear to be going away. Global demand for smartphones continues to cool as smartphone makers realize that half of the world already owns one of their products. For Samsung, which is one of the world’s largest chipmakers, that’s OK—so long as its chips remain in the models that do sell.

    And that’s what’s happening. Samsung’s chip unit was responsible for half the company’s profit in the third quarter, analysts estimate. Sales of displays to Chinese smartphone makers added a little extra lift.

    What’s unclear is whether the company will be able to shore up its Galaxy S6 handset. Just one quarter ago, Samsung failed to meet analyst expectations for its second-quarter earnings in part because of sluggish smartphone sales for its own models. One reason provided by industry watchers? Why, a strong iPhone, of course.