SEOUL, KOREA- Samsung Electronics saw its smartphone-generated operating profit down in the second quarter of this year.A stock analyst said, "The sales of the Galaxy S4 remained lower than expected, while marketing expenses were high. In contrast, Samsung Electronics showed a sharp improvement in profitability in its semiconductor business."

Samsung Electronics' IM business posted sales of 35.54 trillion won in the second quarter of this year, up 8 percent from a year ago, but suffered a 3-percent decline in operating profit to 6.28 trillion won. Among Samsung Electronics' various divisions, the IM business was the only division which suffered a negative year-on-year growth in operating profit.

According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung Electronics sold 76 million units of smartphones in the second quarter, up 6.6 million units compared to the first quarter's 69.4 million units. Despite the increase in the number of smartphones it sold, Samsung's smartphone operating profit marked a negative growth, indicating that it spent a huge amount of marketing expenses.

Samsung's DS division, including semiconductor and display panels, performed well. Samsung's semiconductor operating profit reached 1.76 trillion won, up 70 percent from a quarter ago, with its sales to operating profit ratio rising to 20.3 percent.