Samsung sees best quarterly profits in three years

Demand for memory chips and flat screens for televisions and phones has given Samsung Electronics its best quarterly profits in three years,

The South Korean tech giant reported a 48% jump in operating profits to $8.8bn (£6.8bn) for the three months to March.

Samsung said it expected further growth in memory chip orders and a pick up in earnings from its phone business.

It is relying on its new Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones to help rebuild its reputation after the Note 7 fiasco.

Last October it had to scrap the Galaxy Note 7 after recalling 2.5 million handsets. Batteries were blamed for overheating in the phones, which caused some of them to catch fire.

The two S8 devices launched last week and no sales figures are yet available, but Samsung said pre-orders had been 30% higher than for the Galaxy S7 in 2016.

Despite the financial success, Samsung remains mired in scandal with its de-facto head Lee-Jae Yong on trial over his alleged role in a corruption scandal that brought down South Korean President Park Geun-hye.

Mr Lee denies all the charges, which including bribery and embezzlement.