Samsung estimates its 3Q profit at record high, apparently driven by Galaxy sales

Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S III, right, and Apple's iPhone 4S are displayed at a mobile phone shop in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012. (AP / Ahn Young-joon)

SEOUL, South Korea -- Samsung Electronics Co. estimates its third-quarter operating profit nearly doubled from a year earlier to an all-time high -- likely driven by strong smartphones sales that offset weak semiconductor orders.

The company's Friday earnings preview estimated July-September operating income at 8.1 trillion won ($7.3 billion), higher than the market consensus of 7.6 trillion won.

The world's largest maker of mobile phones, memory chips and TVs estimated its quarterly revenue at 52 trillion won, a 26 per cent growth from a year earlier.

Analysts believe Samsung's mobile division that sells smartphones, media players and tablet computers generated almost 70 per cent of its operating income in the last quarter.

Samsung will announce its full quarterly results including net income and breakdown figures for each division toward the end of this month.