Samsung Electronics Co., South Korea's tech giant, is expected to announce its preliminary fourth-quarter sales and operating profit data on Friday, market sources said Thursday.

According to the sources, Samsung Electronics will likely post sales ranging from 43 trillion won ($37.3 billion) to 47 trillion won for the October-December period. Its operating profit is expected to reach about 5 trillion won.

During the first three quarters of last year, Samsung Electronics posted 117.7 trillion won in sales, with its cumulative operating profit reaching 10.9 trillion won.

If the market forecast is proved right, Samsung's annual sales and operating profit will come to about 160 trillion won and 16 trillion won.

The robust earnings projection for Samsung is based on its strong sales of smartphones. Samsung sold an estimated 35 million units of smartphones worldwide during the fourth quarter, industry watchers said. (Yonhap News)