14 DAY TRIAL // Sales of the iPhone X are said to be well below expectations, with Apple itself planning to cut production for the next months by as much as 50 percent.
With Samsung the sole supplier of OLED screens for the anniversary iPhone, analysts expected the South Koreans to be severely hit by the weak demand for the device. But this is not the case, Samsung says, as it’s ready to cope with the lower than expected sales of the iPhone X.
At the same time, Samsung says it’s trying to reduce reliance on “a certain customer,” and although the firm hasn’t named Apple specifically, it’s pretty clear that Apple was the company it was referring to.
“It is hard to give specific details, but we have been trying to diversify our clients and reduce reliance on a certain customer to build a healthy portfolio,” a Samsung executive was quoted as saying by The Investor. “The company’s (display) business will not be affected much by a certain customer.”
A world without each other
Without Apple, Samsung’s display business wouldn’t be hit too hard, the company says, as it already anticipated a decrease in the first quarter of the year because of the slowing demand.
For the last three months of 2017, Samsung returned $14.15 billion in operating profit and $61.8 billion in revenues. The smartphone division itself fell 3.2 percent from the previous year, with an operating profit of $2.2 billion. Total company profit for 2017 reached $5 billion.
While Samsung wants to cut reliance on Apple, the iPhone maker itself is also trying to do the same thing with its rival, as it’s looking into expanding its supplier portfolio with new names for future iPhone generations. LG Display could be in charge of making OLED screens for new iPhones as well, though analysts expect this year’s models to come with panels still built by Samsung.
On the other hand, sales of the iPhone X aren’t going as strong as expected, and Apple has reportedly cut orders for the next months. Apple is also working on a new-generation lineup due in the fall, and it would include two different models with OLED screens.