Samsung’s chip windfall squeezes Galaxy margins

Analysts estimate Samsung Electronics' smartphone division suffered a sharp profit decline in the first quarter, caught on the wrong side of the memory chip boom that powered the company to its largest quarterly earnings on record. A consensus of eight brokerages, including Heungkuk Securities, Shinhan Investment and KB Securities, projects the mobile experience and networks division earned roughly 2.5 trillion won (1.7 billion) in operating profit during the January-March period.