News Desk | dhaka24.net:
The world's biggest smartphone maker, Samsung Electronics, said Wednesday that net profits in the first quarter were only slightly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic but warned of further falls to come as demand is "significantly" hit by the disease.

reported on Wednesday that net profits fell slightly in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic dampened consumer demand, but warned of further falls to come, according to AFP reports.

Net profits in the January-to-March period were 4.88 trillion won ($4 billion), down 3.1 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

The January-March performance was "partially due to effects of COVID-19", Samsung said in a statement.

And it said it expects weaker results in the next three months, adding that "uncertainties driven by COVID-19 will persist" into the second half.

The firm is the flagship subsidiary of the giant Samsung Group, by far the largest of the family-controlled conglomerates known as "chaebols" that dominate business in the world's 12th-largest economy.

The figures come as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc across the world economy -- earlier this month Samsung had operations suspended at 11 overseas assembly lines -- with expectations rife of a looming global recession.