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Samsung Spanks Apple In Earnings, Sales

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Apple has elicited a lot of hand-wringing by investors and fans alike lately, even as its chief competition, Samsung, seems to be prompting nothing but applause. According to report, it turns out that selling a wider variety of phones and tablets is a good strategy, after all.

While Apple was on its way to the company’s first profit decline in almost a decade during the first three months of the year, Samsung’s net profit grew 42 percent in the same period to 7.2 trillion won – about $6.5 billion US – from 5 trillion won a year earlier.

It was a record-setting quarter for the Korean consumer electronics maker..

“Our business earnings grew from the previous quarter driven by an increase in smartphone sales and decreased marketing expenses,” Hyun Joon Kim, Samsung’s vice president of mobile planning told analysts.

In other words, Samsung sold more phones while pumping less money into marketing. Kim further pinned the quarter’s success on sales of its flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S3, and its oversized Galaxy Note 2 handset.

Research firms underscored the two companies’ divergent financial performance with units shipped. “Samsung shipped almost two times more smartphones and grew nine times faster than Apple during the quarter,” said Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston in a report digging into the first quarter.

Another research firm, Juniper Analytics, estimates Samsung shipped 68 million smartphones during the first quarter, accounting for approximately 34% of the 200 million smartphones sold. Apple in contrast, sold north of 37 million iPhones during the same quarter.

The quarter met with the guidance Samsung had earlier provided, but it was all the more impressive because the company pulled it off despite being forced to pay out an estimated $600 million to Apple, and even before it dropped its next-generation smartphone, the S4, (which just went on sale in the United States over the weekend). The S4 is expected to keep the Samsung streak going, and one would think ought to light a fire beneath Apple.

Apple has stubbornly resisted offering a lower-priced iPhone, or a handset with a significantly larger screen-size (older, discounted models don’t count as a true lower price effort). In the tablet space it has been more willing to experiment, and has had great success with its smaller, and lower priced iPad Mini.

But with Samsung on a roll, and showing no signs of letting up on its variety of offerings, Apple may be forced to rethink its strategy. The pressure will be on for Apple to come up with its own plan to expand into new markets, and beyond the premium category that it has dominated for so long.

Until it does, you can expect the applause for Samsung to continue

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NPA Assures On Staff Welfare 

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The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the management will continue to accompany its port infrastructure  and equipment  modernization drive  with the development of the welfare of its personnel.
Dantsoho made the disclosure recently while responding to the commendation by the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) and the senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASGOC) on the  clearing  of the age-long problem of employee stagnation, when the union paid him a courtesy visit at the Authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
A Statement by NPA’s General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, quoted Dantsoho as saying,  “our Port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive will go hand-in-hand with continuous staff welfare improvement”.
The NPA MD disclosed that human capital development constitutes the key strategy for creating and sustaining superior performance under his watch, adding that “talent development constitutes a critical success factor for the actualization of the big hairy audacious goals we have set for ourselves especially in the area of Port competitiveness.
“The only way we can meet and indeed exceed stakeholders’ expectations is to deepen the competencies of our human resources assets and boosting their morale.”
Speaking further, Dantsoho commended the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for approving the strategic proposal of the Dantsoho-led Management team that solved the over a decade-long problem of lack of promotion that had fuelled industrial disharmony.
“I must specially appreciate our amiable Minister for graciously approving the multi-pronged stratagem we deployed that cleared all outstanding cases of employee stagnation by conducting examinations in one fell swoop and instituted timelines to forestall a recurrence of such anomaly”, he sad.
Speaking on behalf of the joint maritime labour unions, the President  of Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Comrade Bodunde stated, “In addition to clearance of the backlog of stagnated promotions, we also wish to express our appreciation for the increase in productivity bonuses, provision of end-of-year welfare packages for staff, and the revision of the Financial Guide to the Condition of Service, which now addresses our members’ concerns about inflationary pressures.”
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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ANLCA Chieftain Emerges FELCBA’s VP

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National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Elder Olumide Fakanlu, has been elected Vice President of the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association (FELCBA).
The election took place during the FELCBA Congress, held from Tuesday, June 17th to Thursday, June 19th, 2025, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fakanlu’s emergence as Vice President marks a significant achievement for Nigeria within the regional customs brokerage community.
Apart from Fakanlu, Secretary of the Seme Chapter of ANLCA, Austin Nwosu, was also elected, securing the role of Secretary of Relations with Institutions.
The Nigerian delegation played an active role in the congress, with Michael Ebeatu nominated as a member of the electoral officer team, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
The three-day congress concluded with delegates undertaking a visit to the Sierra Leone Port, offering insights into the host nation’s maritime operations, followed by a recreational trip to the Tokeh Beach.
The newly elected executives are expected to lead FELCBA in its efforts to harmonize customs brokerage practices, promote trade facilitation, and advocate for the interests of licensed customs brokers across the ECOWAS sub-region.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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NSC, Police Boost Partnership On Port Enforcement 

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In a bid to enhance more enforcement in the nation’s Port, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to stronger inter-agency collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Council said the collaboration is aimed at enhancing stronger enforcement, compliance and improve operational efficiency across Nigeria’s ports.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of  NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, made this known during a visit to the  Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The visit, which he said, focused on strengthening institutional synergy, comes in the wake of growing responsibilities for the NSC under the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah emphasized the critical role of security agencies in supporting port operations and ensuring regulatory compliance.
He called for the posting of police officers to assist the Council’s monitoring and enforcement teams at key port locations including Lagos, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
“The posting will complement the activities of our revived task teams and enhance our ability to enforce standards across the maritime logistics chain”, he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Egbetokun, assured the Council of the Force’s readiness to continue supporting the growth of the maritime sector.
The IGP acknowledged that compliance enforcement is essential to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Blue Economy objectives.
“The NSC and NPF are expected to deepen collaboration in the months ahead, with a shared focus on building a secure, efficient, and competitive port environment”, to the IGP emphasized.
Chinedu Wosu
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