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Samsung sees 53 per cent growth in quarterly profit amid chip shortage

TECHNOLOGY major Samsung Electronics said it expects the company’s quarterly profit to grow 53 per cent amid a global chip shortage.

The world's biggest memory-chip and smartphone maker has forecast an operating profit of £8 billion for the quarter ending June, as strong demand for memory chips is likely to offset weaker sales of devices.


Since the beginning of the pandemic, demand for electronics components has surged as people shifted more of their lives online.

The upbeat projection by Samsung signals continued strength for the technology industry.

In recent months, computer chip makers have attained much power to increase their prices due to the historic supply crunch.

Last month, Samsung's co-chief executive and mobile chief, Koh Dong-jin told shareholders, "There's a serious imbalance in supply and demand of chips in the IT sector globally."

The global chip shortage also affected car industry, with major manufacturers around the world being forced to halt production at several times.

In recent months, auto brands including Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen and Jaguar Land Rover have all suspended their production lines.

To counter this global shortage, las month, US president Joe Biden and European commissioner Margrethe Vestager unveiled plans to manufacture more computer chips in Europe and the US.

To boost chip-manufacturing, the EU promised an allocation of $150bn (£108bn), while US announced a sum of $52bn (£37.3bn) for domestic chip manufacturing.

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Airbus grounds 6,000 aircraft over solar radiation risk

Highlights

  • Around 6,000 Airbus A320 family aircraft grounded worldwide, affecting half the manufacturer's global fleet.
  • Issue discovered following October incident where JetBlue flight experienced sudden altitude loss, injuring 15 passengers.
  • Most aircraft require three-hour software update, but 900 older planes need complete computer replacement.
Thousands of Airbus planes have been grounded globally after the European aerospace manufacturer discovered that intense solar radiation could interfere with critical flight control computers.
The revelation has triggered widespread flight cancellations and delays, particularly affecting the busy US Thanksgiving travel weekend.

The vulnerability impacts approximately 6,000 aircraft from the A320 family, including the A318, A319, and A321 models. Airbus identified the problem while investigating an October incident where a JetBlue Airways flight travelling between Mexico and the US made an emergency landing in Florida after experiencing a sudden drop in altitude.

The issue relates to computing software that calculates aircraft elevation. Airbus found that intense radiation periodically released by the sun could corrupt data at high altitudes in the ELAC computer, which operates control surfaces on the wings and horizontal stabiliser

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