Samsung Electronics reported a nosedive of more than 30 percent for its third quarter operating profit due to sluggish demand for chips amid the global economic downturn.

The tech giant said on Thursday that its operating profit came to ten-point-nine trillion won in the July-to-September period, down 31-point-four percent on-year.

The drop marks the first on-year decline in nearly three years since the fourth quarter of 2019, falling well short of analysts’ expectations.

The statistic belies the record-setting sales total for the third quarter, which rose by three-point-eight percent on-year to 76-point-eight trillion won on the way to an expected sales record for the entire year.

Net profit slipped by 23-point-six percent to nine-point-four trillion won in the third quarter, although that number as well as the sales figure were in line with Samsung's own estimates released earlier this month.