Samsung beats Nokia for world lead in mobile phone sales

Samsung Electronics overtook Nokia last year for the top spot in world mobile phone sales, another milestone for the Korean company after beating Sony for the No. 1 spot in global TV sales in 2006.

In a news briefing in Las Vegas Monday, a day ahead of the opening of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung said, “Last year, we trailed Nokia in the number of mobile phone units but surpassed it in sales.”

The slower shipment volume was due to Nokia`s strong competitive edge in mid-to-low price mobile phones, but Samsung`s high-end smartphones allowed the Korean company to claim the top spot.

"In early 2007, Samsung Electronics executives gathered at a meeting room and pledged to become the world No. 1 by 2010. We made a pledge tablet engraved with the names of the executives. Though a year late, we kept the promise," Choi said, adding, "Nokia`s sales were four times ours in 2007 in shipment volume, so nobody believed it could be done. We did it however."

Samsung also posted the largest revenue among global IT companies last year. Its 2011 sales reached 148.6 U.S. billion dollars if sales are converted into U.S. dollars, financial information provider FnGuide said Tuesday. The figure easily blew away HP`s sales of 127.4 billion dollars for fiscal 2011 (ending in October). Sales of Apple reached 108.2 billion dollars and analysts predicted those of IBM at 107.2 billion dollars. The sales gap between Samsung and IBM stood at 40 billion dollars.

Choi said, “We will shepherd the ongoing smartphone revolution and solidify our position as the global leader,” adding, “The smart revolution has been the driving force behind the democratization of the Middle East, which has recently expanded into the electronics industry including TVs. The real smart revolution is just beginning, however. Though the future is uncertain, we will invest more this year than last year`s 21 trillion won (18.13 billion dollars).”

"We posted 151 trillion won (130 billion dollars) in sales in 2010 and 164 trillion won (142 billion dollars) last year. We are targeting 180 trillion won (155 billion dollars) this year. If we live up to expectations, we can achieve sales of 231 trillion dollars (200 billion dollars) before 2015 for the first time among global tech companies."

Choi said his company will focus on developing "content service" businesses.“ Samsung Electronics is a global design house putting forward 550 mobile phone designs a year. Going forward, we will expand investment in the content sector to lead the global IT ecosystem," he said.

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