Screens and phones are in surprisingly strong demand

The Korean firm earned 3.1 trillion won (�1.5bn; $2.7bn) in the three months to end-March, well ahead of forecasts.

Almost all the firm's electronics businesses have turned positive in recent months, led by a resurgence in the long-sluggish chip market.

The firm also builds two hot products - plasma screens and camera phones.

The company said that the cheer would continue throughout 2004, and predicted a doubling in full-year net profit to 11.7 trillion won.

Shares in the company fell by 3%, however - partly because of mixed views on future prospects, and partly because investors are cashing in gains over the past few days that had taken the share to a record high.

Gloomier

Nonetheless, Samsung's performance surpasses the gloomier picture at Nokia, a major rival in the mobile telecoms business.

The Finnish firm on Friday reported a 16% fall in first-quarter profit and predicted its business would get worse before it improved.

Samsung said it expected its global market share in mobile phones would rise to 14% in the first quarter, up from 10.5% a year earlier.