Samsung 2009 Annual Report Download - page 7

“We are racing to meet the challenges of
building a better tomorrow. We are a creative
company that is growing in a rapidly changing world.
We plan to achieve 100 years of global leadership.”
11 MESSAGE FROM THE CEO
Dear Samsung Electronics stakeholder :
I’d like to extend my sincere appreciation to all customers and shareholders who have a special relationship with
Samsung Electronics. In 2009, despite the economic recession and fierce competition, Samsung Electronics
achieved the greatest performance in its history. We strengthened our industry leadership in core businesses and
enhanced our brand value.
In 2010, we at Samsung Electronics are prepared for our next leap forward. We envision the year as the start
of fulfilling our ten-year Vision 2020 corporate goal. In the next decade, we intend to join the ranks of the top
10 global companies by achieving US$400 billion in sales, becoming a top five global brand and securing our
reputation as one of the 10 most respected companies worldwide. Vision 2020 sets the foundation for our growth
as a world-class company and builds on the success and creativity that will guide us through the 21st century
until we celebrate our centennial birthday. We have developed differentiated strategies that harness creativity, trust
and a nurturing, transparent culture as part of our everyday work lives. Companywide, we will build a content-
rich business structure that harmoniously blends innovation in hardware and software. Leveraging that creative
platform, we will develop new businesses in health, the environment and renewable energy.
The year in review shows unprecedented success—our best ever
Despite the challenging market conditions in 2009, we delivered the best sales performance in our forty-year
history, achieving record consolidated sales of KRW139 trillion and consolidated operating income of KRW11.6
trillion. We outperformed the market and increased sales by an impressive 15% and operating income by a
substantial 91% over 2008.
Growth was evident in every business
By advancing sales and profits across all businesses, including TVs, mobile handsets, memory chips and LCDs,
we cemented a commanding position in our major businesses and maintained stable profits. In other business
areas, including notebook computers, digital home appliances, printers and System LSI, sales and profits also
grew significantly to strengthen our overall competitiveness.
In the memory semiconductor business, demand was greater and steadier than expected. We recorded a
performance well above forecasts. As a result, we reinforced our leadership in the market. Concerns about falling
demand in the LCD business proved fleeting and demand rose faster than expected. Based on our differentiated
technologies and cost competitiveness in LED panels, we achieved the highest profit margin in the industry, and
continued to widen the gap with late-to-market players.
When it comes to our core products and technologies, such as mobile devices and TVs, we exceeded all
records. In the mobile phone business, our chosen strategy of strengthening new category lineups for touchscreen
phones and smart phones proved to be the right one. Our concerted focus to increase our market share in the
emerging markets also yielded outstanding results. We attained a worldwide market share of 20%. In the TV
business, we solidified our position in the LCD TV market by releasing a full range of LED TVs, and leading the 3D
TV market. In 2009, we truly earned our status as a top-ranked global company.