Samsung announces rise in profits

Samsung Electronics said its fourth-quarter earnings rose 17% from a year earlier on strong growth in sales for smartphones and flat panels.

Samsung said today in a regulatory filing that its net profit reached four trillion won ($3.5bn) in the October-December period last year.

The company earned 3.4 trillion won a year earlier.

The Suwon, South Korea-based company is a global electronics giant and supplies key components such as chips to companies like Apple for its smart devices.