Samsung Electronics posted the third-biggest operating profit in the company's history in the fourth quarter thanks to brisk sales in semiconductors, which took up more than half of the total earnings, the company said Tuesday. 
Consolidated operating profit reached 9.22 trillion won (7.92 billion US dollars) in the October-December quarter, up 3.08% from a year earlier. 
It marked Samsung's third-biggest profit, following 10.16 trillion won tallied in the third quarter of 2013 and 9.53 trillion won in the second quarter of 2013. 
Revenue inched up 0.03% over the year to 53.33 trillion won in the fourth quarter. 
The semiconductor business posted 4.95 trillion won in operating profit for the December quarter, accounting for over half of Samsung's total profit. It surpassed the division's previous record high of 3.66 trillion won in the third quarter of 2015. 
The South Korean currency's depreciation to the US dollar helped Samsung enhance earnings. The weak currency raises repatriated earnings from overseas. 
The won/dollar exchange rate gained above 1,200 won per dollar in the fourth quarter from around 1,100 won in the previous quarter, lifting Samsung's profit by about 300 billion won. 
The mobile unit's operating profit was 2.5 trillion won due to the discontinuation of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. It was up from 2.23 trillion won a year ago. 
For the whole year of 2016, Samsung recorded 29.24 trillion won of operating profit on revenue of 201.87 trillion won. The profit was up 10.7% from the previous year, with the revenue inched up 0.6%. 
The 2016 operating profit was the second-largest in Samsung's history, following 36.79 trillion won tallied in 2013. Samsung's revenue topped 200 trillion won for five straight years through 2016.