Samsung did not disclose its smartphone shipments for the third quarter but, according to research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung sold 56.9m smartphones in the third quarter with a record 35 per cent market share while Apple sold 26.9m smartphones with a 17 per cent share. Flat panel rival LG Display on Friday reported its first quarterly profit in two years, bolstered by strong sales of its displays used in Apple's iPhone and iPad. The world's second-largest flat-panel maker by sales said net profit was Won158bn in the third quarter, compared with a Won687.5bn loss a year earlier. Samsung's strong third-quarter results came despite its legal defeat to Apple in a US court, where the company was ordered to pay more than $1bn to Apple in damages for patent infringement. Suh Won-seok, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities, expects Samsung's earnings from its mobile division to fall next year as the smartphone market growth slows but said the shortfall will be offset by increasing earnings from its component businesses such as chips and display panels. "The explosive growth of smartphones will slow in 2013, driving down average selling prices, but we expect to see an improvement in semiconductors and display panels," he said. He forecast that the global smartphone market to grow 34 per cent to 285m units in 2013 but average selling prices of smartphones to fall 9 per cent to $273. But he expects Samsung to post Won30tn in 2013 operating profit, up 17 per cent form this year, while sales are forecast to grow 7 per cent to Won212tn.