SEOUL - Samsung Electronics on Thursday reported an expected 30% profit plunge on the back of a highly damaging recall crisis that hammered the reputation of the world's largest smartphone maker.
Samsung issued a revised earning estimate two weeks ago after it killed off its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone due to devices overheating and bursting into flames
The third quarter earnings were announced just hours before the start of an annual shareholder meeting which was set to approve the latest step in a complex generational change of leadership at the family-run South Korean conglomerate.
Samsung said its operating profit for the July-September period stood at 5.2 trillion won ($4.6 billion), down almost 30% from the previous year.
The profit slump was in line with a revised earning estimate issued by Samsung two weeks ago after it killed off its flagship Galaxy Note 7 smartphone due to devices overheating and bursting into flames.
The decision to discontinue production of a model aimed at competing with arch-rival Apple's iPhone was a devastating move for a company that prides itself on the quality production of cutting-edge technology.
Scrapping the Note 7 saw earnings of the company's core mobile business drop off a cliff, with the mobile division's operating profit for the third quarter down almost 98% from the previous quarter at just 100 billion won.
In a an earnings statement, Samsung said its mobile unit would focus on "expanding sales of new flagship products ... as well as regaining consumers' confidence."
The impact of the Note 7 debacle on the electronics giant's brand name is still being calculated, with Samsung itself having predicted another $3 billion-plus in lost profits over the next two quarters.
As an illustration of the loss of prestige suffered by a company used to being treated as corporate royalty in South Korea, thousands of domestic Note 7 customers are expected to join a class action lawsuit seeking compensation over the recall fiasco.
And one South Korean investment advisory firm went so far as to recommend shareholders vote on Thursday against the nomination to the Samsung board of vice chairman J.Y. Lee -- the family-run firm's heir apparent.