An estimated shipment of more than 60 million smartphones was the main driver behind a record quarterly operating profit of 8.84 trillion Won (around $8.12 billion) for Samsung.

The company, which also posted an 18 percent rise in revenues to 56.06 trillion Won ($51.7 billion) across Q4 2012, revealed its mobile communications business now accounts for more than half of its sales, rising by 4 percent sequentially to 27.23 trillion Won ($25.1 billion).

Though Samsung doesn't publish official shipment or sales figures, analysts have coupled the firm's quarterly results by by estimating smartphone shipments were likely in the region of 63 million units, comfortably ahead of Apple's 47.8 million iPhones.

Looking ahead

"Despite uncertainties in Europe and concerns over the US fiscal cliff creating a difficult business environment, we did our best this quarter to achieve strong earnings based on a strategic focus on differentiated and high value-added products as well as our technological competitiveness," said senior VP and head of investor relations Robert Yi.

"Heading into this year, we are expecting a slow recovery in the component business due to reduced capital expenditures, while competition in the set business will intensify further as demand slows and the mid- to low-end market expands."

Indeed, it appears to be Samsung's belief that smartphone sales across the board are unlikely to hold as strong during the first few months of 2013.

For the first time since the start of the financial crisis, the company is to put a limit on the amount of cash it spends on expansion during the coming year, with 2013 set to be a tough ride for those at the top of the tree as well as those at the bottom.

In a separate announcement, Strategy Analytics claims Samsung accounted for more than 25 percent of all mobile devices shipped in 2012 – smartphones and feature phones combined – ahead of Nokia on 21.3 percent and Apple on 8.6 percent.

[source: Samsung]