Samsung Confident About 2016 Q4 Earnings Despite Note 7 Fire Safety Issue

South Korean electronics giant Samsung expressed its confidence about its fourth quarter operating profits following its announcement regarding the reason for the troubled Galaxy Note 7.

In a statement, Samsung told the press, “We sincerely apologise for the discomfort and concern we have caused to our customers. We are taking responsibility for our failure to ultimately identify and verify the issues arising out of battery design and manufacturing. We have taken several corrective actions to ensure this never happens again.”

Samsung’s latest statement was a bid to restore investor confidence. Reuters quoted experts who said the company needs to reassure its customers that it can manage the fire-prone Note 7 problem and can be trusted to fix it.

Prior to the statement, the company has since recalled over 2.5 million Note 7 units in September last year following reports of overheating and phone fires, the Guardian said. Two months after, Samsung halted production of the smartphone, totaling an estimated loss of USD5.3 billion in profits.

The latest statement also revealed Samsung’s intentions to follow through with its promise. The company unveiled its eight-step testing process as a form of validation to perhaps to assure the public about the safety of its future smartphone batteries. The process includes adding an extra protective bracket to prevent the smartphone battery from future harm should the phone gets accidentally dropped.

“We look forward to moving ahead with a renewed commitment to safety. The lessons of the past several months are now deeply reflected in our processes and in our culture,” Samsung added.