Samsung Australia sales skyrocket $300 million

The Australian arm of the technology giant Samsung Electronics has reported a 139 percent increase in annual profit for 2013.

The local operations contributed $36.5 million of after-tax profit to the coffers of Samsung Electronics, more than double the 2012 figure of $15.3 million, according to a report filed with ASIC.

Revenue from continuing operations also increased 13 percent, with $2.62 billion racked up in 2013 compared with $2.32 billion the previous year.

Samsung also reported $107.7 million of "other income" in 2013, taking total income to $2.73 billion, though it is unclear what this represents because Samsung Electronics Australia declined to comment when contacted by CRN.

Globally, Samsung Electronics racked up a profit of US$28.9 billion for 2013 from revenues of US$216.7 billion, both up from the previous year.

Samsung Electronics Australia paid $18.6 million of income tax for 2013, representing 33.8 percent of its gross profit.

In March, Samsung's smartphone competitor, Apple, came under scrutiny for profit shifting and tax reduction tactics in a report from University of Sydney Business School senior lecturer in taxation law, Dr Antony Ting.

When asked about Samsung, Ting told CRN that while he had not performed detailed academic research on the South Korean conglomerate, the numbers from the Australian annual report looked reasonable in terms of tax paid.

"Korea's top corporate tax rate is 22 percent, which is internationally not that high. So there is less incentive to make profit-shifting arrangements," said Ting.

The report filed with ASIC also showed that Samsung Electronics New Zealand became a standalone subsidiary in 2013, with the assets and liabilities shifted to the conglomerate's Singapore arm. However, the $64.5 million sale was not reflected in the 2013 results for Australia.