LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Samsung Electronics forecast a surge in quarterly profits on Friday, as the boom in artificial intelligence powered demand for advanced semiconductors.

The South Korean technology giant said second-quarter operating profits were likely to be 10.4trn won (£5.9bn), up from 670bn won a year previously. Analysts had been expecting operating profits of around 8.8trn won for the quarter to June end.

Sales were forecast to come in around 74trn won.

As well as representing a near 15-fold increase in annual profits, it would also be a significant improvement on the first quarter, when sales were 71.9trn won and operating profits were 6.6trn won.

As at 0845 BST, shares in Samsung were trading 3% higher.

Along with its rivals, Samsung - the world's largest manufacturer of memory chips, smartphones and televisions - is benefiting from bumper demand for high-tech semiconductors, which are integral to AI.

Earlier this week, chip consultancy SemiAnalysis said US giant Nvidia was set to sell around $12bn worth of chips in China alone this year, despite mounting trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Samsung is due to publish second-quarter results at the end of July.

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