Samsung Q3 profit guidance beats estimates

SEOUL - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Wednesday its July-September operating profit likely leapt 79.8 percent from a year earlier, beating expectations and pushing the South Korean tech giant's share price sharply higher.

Samsung, in a regulatory filing, estimated its third-quarter profit at 7.3 trillion won ($6.29 billion), its first quarterly profit gain in two years and its biggest since the first quarter of 2014. This compared with a 6.7 trillion won profit tipped by a Thomson Reuters SmartEstimate poll of 30 analysts.

Samsung's shares opened 4.1 percent higher after the guidance release.

Smartphone earnings likely improved from a year earlier, analysts said, partly due to the launch of new lower-end models and the August launch of the Galaxy Note 5.

Semiconductor sales were also expected to be strong, driven by the launch of new smartphones including the Galaxy Note 5 and Apple Inc's iPhone 6S models. The weaker South Korean won likely also boosted profits, analysts said.

Samsung expects third-quarter revenue to rise by 7.5 percent from a year earlier to 51 trillion won.

Investors remain cautious about Samsung's earnings outlook, however, as mobile division margins likely remained under pressure.

Samsung will not disclose its full results until late October, but HMC Investment estimated in a report last month that the firm's mobile division operating margin fell to 7.7 percent in the third quarter from 10.6 percent in April-June.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

First in PH: Company extends benefits to live-in, same-sex partners

MANILA - The Manila office of Thomson Reuters has introduced a landmark company policy making domestic partners and same-sex partners eligible as dependents and beneficiaries for company benefits.

Thomson Reuters Manila recently introduced its "Domestic Partners Eligibility" policy, which is believed to be the first of its kind in the Philippines to support employees’ domestic ("live-in") and same sex partnerships.

The policy is already in place in Thomson Reuters offices in the United States and United Kingdom, but the first to be implemented in its offices in Asia.

Thomson Reuters Manila’s single employees with domestic partners, either heterosexual or same sex, may now enroll them as qualified dependents under its healthcare plan, and as qualified beneficiaries under its group life insurance plan and retirement plan.

The company has identified a list of criteria for eligibility, as well as documentation requirements, for domestic partners to avail of company benefits.

Domestic partnership is used to describe a committed relationship between unmarried individuals, either same sex or heterosexual.

Thomson Reuters Senior Site Officer and Head of Human Resources Peter Buenaseda said the company embraces diversity to drive innovation and deliver competitive advantage.

"We foster an inclusive workplace where all employees are valued and have the opportunity to reach their full potential," he said.

Thomson Reuters currently has over 2,200 staff working in the Philippines.

The New York-headquartered Thomson Reuters combines industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision makers in the financial, legal, tax and accounting, government, intellectual property and science and media markets, powered by the world's most trusted news organization.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com