Hit By Rising Competition

Samsung Electronics Co.'s weaker-than-expected earnings guidance for its second quarter and tepid results from HTC Corp., cautioning high-end smartphone makers' on growth taper amid intense competition and cheaper devices flooding the market.
Samsung's market value fell an additional $6.5 billion on Friday after the world's biggest smartphone maker by shipments said it expects an operating profit of between 9.3 trillion won and 9.7 trillion won, or $8.2 billion and $8.5 billion, for the second quarter, disappointing investors who had been hoping the figure would reach at least 10 trillion won.