Seoul: Samsung Electronics Co. on Tuesday estimated its third-quarter operating profit at 12.1 trillion won (US$8.5 billion), marking a 31.8 percent increase from the same period last year. Sales also saw a rise, growing by 8.7 percent to reach 86 trillion won. However, the data for net income was not disclosed in this preliminary report.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the operating profit exceeded expectations, coming in 17.4 percent higher than the average estimate from a survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial data firm of Yonhap News Agency. Samsung Electronics plans to release its final earnings report later, which will provide more detailed insights into its financial performance for the quarter.