South Korean consumer electronics company Samsung on Friday reported a near doubling of net profit in the third quarter. The firm said it had earned almost $6 billion (4.6 billion euros) between July and September.

Sales soared by a staggering 26.4 percent in the quarter, helping Samsung to retain its position as the world's largest tech company by revenue.

"The business environment remained difficult with global economic uncertainties persisting amid the fiscal concerns in the US and Europe," Senior Vice President Robert Yi said in a statement. "But we continue to break our quarterly profit records."

Smart market operator

Samsung said that its third quarter success was again a result of surging demand for its smart phones, with 18 million units of its Galaxy S III shipped to customers worldwide. Also helping to drive its records was the firm's display panel business.

Booming smart phone sales made Samsung leapfrog US rival Apple as the world's biggest maker of such devices. Both companies are still involved in legal battles in 10 countries over alleged patent violations.

While Samsung's outlook remains strong for the smart phone segment, its semiconductor business is in rough waters. For the third quarter alone, the South Koreans reported an 8.7-percent drop in sales.

hg/kms (dpa, AFP)