Samsung announces record quarter profit

South Korean manufacturer Samsung Electronics announced record third quarter operating profits of 5.6 billion euros ($7.3 billion) on Friday. The world's largest maker of mobile phones, memory chips and televisions said the growth in profits was driven by strong sales of its flagship Galaxy smartphone. "Samsung's mobile business is likely to continue its boom until the second quarter of 2013 as the global smartphone market is still growing, especially in emerging markets," analyst Jeff Kang, from Daishin Securities, told the Yonhap news agency. Samsung's shares have increased more than seven percent since August, despite a US court ruling that Samsung had infringed copyright laws when it produced parts similar to Apple's iPhone. The court awarded the American based company more than $1 billion in compensation for the breach. Samsung is set to release full profit results, including net income and a breakdown of figures toward the end of October.