Samsung (SSNLF) said last night that its Q1 results are expected to be below market expectations due to "worse-than-expected business conditions in the display and memory industries."

Display earnings are likely to fall short of market expectations, the company said. "In the LCD business, amid weak seasonality, price declines were greater than expected due to an increase in supply following increased capacity of Chinese companies. In the OLED business, profitability worsened due to a decline in demand for flexible products from large customers and intense price competition with LTPS LCD panels."

In memory, "price declines for major products are likely to exceed previous expectations amid overall weak demand under seasonality," Samsung announced. It added, "To overcome difficult business conditions, the Company will strengthen product differentiation based on its technological leadership while also enhancing cost competitiveness via efficient resource management. In the mid to long term, we will continue efforts to strengthen key capabilities by boosting competitiveness of our major businesses while securing sustained growth via strategic investments in R&D, new businesses, etc."