Anchor: Samsung Electronics says it posted nine-point-two trillion won, or seven-point-75 billion U.S. dollars, in operating profit in the fourth quarter of last year. Industry observers say the third largest quarterly operating profit in the history of the company shows that the tech giant has completely overcome business repercussions from its Galaxy Note 7 recall disaster.
Bae Joo-yon reports.

Report: Samsung Electronics estimated on Friday that it logged nine-point-two trillion won, or seven-point-75 billion U.S. dollars, in operating profit in the fourth quarter.
  
The estimate is up 77 percent from the quarter before and 50 percent from the same period a year earlier. It is also one trillion won higher than market expectations.

It also marked the first time in three years since the third quarter of 2013 that the tech giant posted a quarterly operating profit of more than nine trillion won. 
  
The impressive performance comes after the company suffered a plunge in operating profit in the wake of the Galaxy Note 7 recall fiasco. Its operating profit stood at five trillion won in the third quarter.
 
Of the total, up to five trillion won came from the semiconductor sector and two trillion won from the IT mobile and smartphone arena.
 
Analysts say the rebound is attributable to a surging demand for mobile memory cards and increased prices of semiconductors as well as the company’s efforts to keep its technological edge sharp.
  
At this rate, market expectations are growing high that Samsung Electronics will likely post a record high operating profit of over ten trillion won in the first quarter of this year.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.