Samsung profits rise on strong handset sales

Samsung Electronics reported Friday that its second-quarter profits rocketed 51 percent, due in large part to a surge in cell phone sales.

The South Korean company, which sells TVs and other consumer electronics, electronic components, and mobile handsets, reported a profit of $2.12 billion on $18 billion worth of sales.

The company said the jump in profits came as it sold 45.7 million handsets during the quarter, a 22 percent hike in sales over the previous year. For the past year, Samsung has been gobbling up market share at the expense of its American rival Motorola. Last year, the company overtook Motorola as the No. 2 handset maker in the world, behind Nokia, the worldwide leader.

But despite its strong sales in the second quarter, Samsung executives told investors and analysts that it expects the worldwide economic slowdown to affect sales in the second half of the year.

Samsung has seen great success with its smartphone the Instinct, which is sold exclusively in the U.S. for Sprint Nextel's network. Sprint reported in June that the phone had sold out in the first week it was on the market.