Middle school students experience Samsung Electronics Galaxy S8 smartphones at its shop in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 7, 2017. Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its second-quarter operating profit soared to the highest in its history as massive data growth fueled a boom in the semiconductor sales and helped defy sluggish growth in the smartphone market and a slow recovery in the global economy. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The Associated Press
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Samsung Electronics is on a roll thanks to booming sales of memory chips required by the increasingly data-based economy.
The company, the world's largest supplier of memory chips, said Friday that its operating profit soared 72 percent in the April-June quarter over a year earlier to a record high.
Samsung has the most advanced memory chip production technology.
Robust semiconductor sales amid a massive expansion of data use offset sluggish growth in smartphone sales in the last quarter, the company said. The results beat expectations, putting Samsung on track for its highest profit ever in 2017.
The South Korean tech giant put its April-June operating profit at 14 trillion won ($12.1 billion), compared with 8.1 trillion won a year earlier. Sales rose 18 percent to 60 trillion won ($51.9 billion).
Employees walk past logos of the Samsung Electronics Co. at its shop in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 7, 2017. Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its second-quarter operating profit soared to the highest in its history as massive data growth fueled a boom in the semiconductor sales and helped defy sluggish growth in the smartphone market and a slow recovery in the global economy. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The Associated Press
Employees walk by Seoul office of Samsung Electronics Co. in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 7, 2017. Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its second-quarter operating profit soared to the highest in its history as massive data growth fueled a boom in the semiconductor sales and helped defy sluggish growth in the smartphone market and a slow recovery in the global economy.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2016, file photo, the corporate logo of Samsung Electronics Co. is seen at its shop in Seoul, South Korea. Samsung Electronics said Friday, July 7, 2017, its second-quarter operating profit soared 72 percent over a year earlier to the highest in its history as its semiconductor sales helped defy sluggish growth in the smartphone market and a slow recovery in the global economy. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
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Visitors experience the Samsung Electronics Galaxy S8 Plus smartphones at its shop in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 7, 2017. Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its second-quarter operating profit soared to the highest in its history as massive data growth fueled a boom in the semiconductor sales and helped defy sluggish growth in the smartphone market and a slow recovery in the global economy. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
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Visitors past by a Samsung Electronics shop in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 7, 2017. Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its second-quarter operating profit soared to the highest in its history as massive data growth fueled a boom in the semiconductor sales and helped defy sluggish growth in the smartphone market and a slow recovery in the global economy. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The Associated Press
People use their smartphones near an advertisement of the Samsung Electronics Galaxy S8 smartphone at its shop in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, July 7, 2017. Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday its second-quarter operating profit soared to the highest in its history as massive data growth fueled a boom in the semiconductor sales and helped defy sluggish growth in the smartphone market and a slow recovery in the global economy.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
The Associated Press