Samsung Electronics reported that its operating profit dropped nearly 78 percent in the third quarter amid a prolonged slump in the chip industry. 

The tech giant said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that its operating profit came to two-point-43 trillion won, or around one-point-eight billion U.S. dollars, in the July-September period, down 77-point-57 percent from a year earlier. 

Despite the drop, the figure was a marked improvement over the first and second quarter, when operating profit stood in the 600 billion-won range, and more than 32 percent higher than the estimate from Yonhap Infomax. 

Operating profit surpassed one trillion won for the first time this year thanks to reduced losses in the memory business and a better-than-expected performance in the mobile and display sectors. 

Sales in the third quarter came to 67-point-four trillion won for a 12-point-two-percent drop from the same period last year, with net profit falling 37-point-seven percent to five-point-84 trillion won.