Samsung has today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2012, which slightly exceed the estimations that were set by the Korean company earlier this month. It recorded an operating profit of 8.84 trillion won (approx. $8.27 billion) during the three-month period, on 56.06 trillion won (approx. $54.45 billion) in revenue. That’s a 10% increase in profit over the previous quarter, and a whopping 89.3% increase in profit over the fourth quarter of 2011.

Samsung’s operating profit for the year was 29.05 trillion won (approx. $27.18 billion) on revenue of 201.10 trillion won (approx. $188.14 billion). The company’s mobile business played a big part in its success, with devices like the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II attributing to its impressive smartphone sales.

Earlier this month, Samsung announced that it has now sold more than 100 million Galaxy smartphones, with 40 million Galaxy S III units sold since its debut last May.

Samsung’s semiconductor business, which is responsible for its Exynos processors, also performed well. The logic chip unit alone posted a profit of 1.42 trillion won (approx. $1.33 billion), a 39% increase over the previous quarter. The company’s television business, which some reports have claimed is in trouble, posted an 87% increase in operating profit over the previous quarter.

It’s not all good news for Samsung investors, however. The company expects earnings to fall during the first quarter of 2013 due to a seasonal decrease in demand, while its computer sales for 2013 are expected to take a hit from the “dynamic shift” of the IT industry, which is increasingly moving towards tablet devices.

In comparison, Samsung’s biggest competitor in the mobile business, Apple, saw $54.5 billion in revenue during its last quarter, with $13.1 billion in profit. While Apple’s figures may be bigger, the Cupertino company didn’t see anywhere near as much growth. Its sales were up 17.6% over the same quarter last year, but its profit margins have significantly decreased.

Apple is also feeling the affects of the shift towards tablets, with its Mac sales down by 1 million units over the same quarter last year. Its iPad sales rocketed 111%, however, with 22.9 million units sold.

• ViaThe Verge