Net profit was 6.5tn won ($5.9bn; £3.7bn), up 91% from a year earlier. 

 

The South Korean phonemaker was also boosted by strong demand at its display panel unit.

 

The results come after quarterly profits from Apple - its biggest rival in phones and tablets - disappointed some investors³.

 

While Samsung has enjoyed tremendous success with its Galaxy range of smartphones, other manufacturers have been releasing new models, crowding the marketplace.

 

Last month, Apple started selling the latest version of its iPhone and this week, launched a smaller version of the best-selling iPad. On Thursday, it announced profits in the last quarter were $8.2bn, up from $6.6bn last year.

 

 

Samsung expects market competition to intensify⁴ but "we will do our best to sustain our earnings⁵ momentum⁶ throughout the fourth quarter by implementing⁷ strategies we have developed for our businesses", said Robert Yi, head of investor² relations. 

 

The firm said its flagship Galaxy SIII smartphone has been a key driver in raising profit margins⁸.

 

"The business environment remained difficult with global economic uncertainties⁹ persisting amid the fiscal¹⁰ concerns in the US and Europe. 

 

"However, we continued to break our quarterly profit records," Mr Yi added.

 

The display panels unit at the firm had revenues of 8.46tn won, up 19% from the previous year. The unit is now profitable. 

 

And the firm expects a "flurry of new mobile devices hitting the market" to boost sales of application processors and image sensors¹¹ it makes that power smartphones and tablet PCs.

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