SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) — Samsung Electronics saw its operating profit rise in the third quarter by brisk sales of semiconductors and display panels, the company said on Friday.

The South Korean tech behemoth posted 7.8 trillion won (7 billion U.S. dollars) in its preliminary figure for operating profit during the July-September period, up 5.55 percent from the same period last year.

It was down 4.18 percent from 8.14 trillion won tallied in the previous quarter, which was the largest in more than two years.

The third-quarter profit beat market expectations of about 7.4 trillion won thanks to brisk sales of semiconductors and display panels, analysts said.

The better-than-expected earnings result came despite the companys decision in early September to recall all of about 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones shipped across the globe.