Samsung Electronics on July 24 posted an impressive set of its second quarter earnings. For the three months through June, operating profits were just over $2 billion, a fivefold increase on the first quarter and up 5% from a year earlier. The total revenue was $26 billion, up 13.4% from the first quarter and 11.7% from the same period last year.

The impressive profitability of the TV business was highlighted in the report. Samsung's Digital Media division, which makes TVs, computers, printers, and other home electronics products, scored $848 million in the second quarter revenue, comparing with $304 million for the previous quarter and $112 million a year ago. That represents a respectable profit margin of 9%.

Samsung LED TV

The company’s strategy is to concentrate on high-end LCD (liquid-crystal display) TVs, particularly LED back-lit ones. In 2009, Samsung introduced a new line of large-screen LED LCD TVs that cost some $600 more than traditional flat-screen sets. Then it splurged on hundreds of millions of dollars in promoting and popularizing the new technology.