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SEOUL, South Korea - Samsung Electronics Co. trimmed its sales forecast for this year on global economic woes, but said profit will be up because of growth in key areas such as memory chips, flat-panel displays and mobile hand sets.

"Global economic uncertainty will continue this year, affecting our management conditions," Chief Executive Yun Jong-yong said Friday at the company's annual shareholders' meeting. "We expect competition to become fiercer globally amid higher oil prices and the dollar's weakness."

Samsung aims to increase 2008 sales by 10 per cent, Yun said, without providing specific figures. The company had forecast a 15 per cent annual revenue increase in January.

Yun said he expects Samsung's profit in 2008 to be greater than last year as the company focuses on its four key businesses - semiconductors, hand set's, LCD panels and TV sets.

Capital investment will be at a similar level to that of last year, he added.

Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, posted US$7.61 billion in annual profits in 2007, up 12 per cent from a year earlier. Sales rose seven per cent to $64.7 billion.

Some analysts expect Samsung to report first-quarter results next month with the chip business in the red for the first time since 2001, weighed by a sharp fall in chip prices.