Samsung Q3 2008 results: market share up, profit margin down

Today Samsung Electronics released its Q3 financial results. The company moved 51.8 million cell phones in Q3. That's a 13% gain from the 45.7 million sold in Q2, and a 22% increase over what the company managed for the same quarter last year. Samsung expects the total number of cell phones sold for the year to break the 200 million mark.

But while Samsung's sales are up, the company's profit margins are down. This quarter Samsung reported a profit margin of 7%, down from the 13% margin it boasted last quarter. The average selling price for the company's phones dropped from $143 in Q2 to $135 in Q3. The company says that a slump in the sales of high end handsets in its home market of South Korea is partly to blame.

Overall Samsung's market share is up. The company estimates that it now controls 16% of the global market, up from the 15.4% share it had after Q2 of 2008.