People walk in front of Samsung Group's logo in Seoul July 24, 2009. Samsung Electronics, the world's top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, posted its best quarterly profit in 2-years thanks to a turnaround in its memory chip business but maintained caution for the rest of the year.(Xinhua/Reuters photo) Photo Gallery>>>

     SEOUL, July 24 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's top chipmaker, SamsungElectronics Co., said Friday that its second-quarter earnings exceeded its previous estimate thanks to a boom its mobile handsetand liquid crystal display (LCD) panel sales. 

    According to Samsung, its net profit topped 2.25 billion won (1.8 billion U.S. dollars) during the second quarter, marking a 5.2 percent on-year advance from 2.14 trillion won (1.7 billion U.S. dollars).

An employee of Samsung Electronics touches a mobile phone displayed for visitors at the company's headquarters in Seoul July 24, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    The figure was higher than the market estimate of some 1.7 trillion won (1.36 billion U.S. dollars) and the company's own estimate, Samsung said.

    The rise in earnings came as the company's sales was boosted 15.9 percent to 21.02 trillion won (16.8 billion U.S. dollars) during the same period, the company said.

    Samsung's individual business lines reported buoyed earnings, with its LCD division posting an operating income of 150 billion won (120 million U.S. dollars), reversing the previous quarter's loss, and total of 52.3 million handset sales during the April-June period.

    Samsung's earnings would stay on an upward trend through the rest of the year as the global memory chip sector is showing a mild recovery, local analysts said.

    Earlier this week, LG Electronics Co., Samsung's domestic rival,posted a record-high profit of 1.15 trillion won (920 million U.S.dollars) in its second-quarter earnings on strong overseas demand for its mobile phones and TVs.

     Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis