Samsung Electronics has projected a nosedive of nearly 70 percent for its fourth quarter operating profit.

The tech giant estimated in its earnings guidance on Friday that its operating profit came to four-point-three trillion won, or around three-point-four billion U.S. dollars, in the October-to-December period, a 69-percent drop over last year and 60-point-seven percent from last quarter.

It marks the first time Samsung reported a quarterly operating profit of less than five trillion won since the third quarter in 2014, when it posted four-point-06 trillion won.

Sales were projected to total 70 trillion won for the quarter, down eight-point-58 percent on-year.

The poor guidance is attributed to weak demand for memory chips and smartphones amid high prices and rising interest rates.

Annual sales, however, were projected to post a record high of 301-point-77 trillion won last year, up seven-point-93 percent.