Samsung's Galaxy S8 hits stores, aims to move on from recall crisis

Seoul : The world's biggest smartphone maker Samsung Electronics added more than $1 billion to its market capitalisation Friday as investors cheered positive reaction to its new Galaxy S8 and the device went on sale over the counter.

The device, unveiled in New York last month and a challenge to Apple's iPhone, is the firm's first major launch since last year's humiliating withdrawal of the Galaxy Note 7 over exploding batteries, which hammered its once-stellar reputation.

It also comes with vice-chairman Lee Jae-Yong and other executives on trial for bribery over their alleged role in the graft scandal that brought down former president Park Geun-Hye.

But the company's profits are rising and the new phones have received good reviews, with more than one million pre-orders for the S8 and the larger S8+ in South Korea alone.

Shares in Samsung Electronics rose 1.2 percent to close at 2.04 million won ($1,797) Friday, adding around 1.3 trillion won to its total market capitalisation.

"Market reactions to the release of the S8 series are somewhat positive," said Lee Seung-Woo of IBK Investment Securities.

Samsung could break the record 48.5 million unit sales it achieved with its S7 series, he added. 

"Barring the weakening of the US dollar, Samsung's second-quarter operating profit would reach 12 trillion won," Lee said.

Pre-order deliveries began earlier this week, and in-store sales began in South Korea on Friday, with the US and Canada to follow suit. The phone is due to be rolled out to around 50 more countries next week.