T3 - Tech 100

Massive Korean manufacturer known for great tellies.

It’s arguable as to whether Samsung or Sony is the world’s largest electronics company, but there’s no sniffing at their credit crunch-defying financial results.

2009 looks set to be their most profitable year ever, with the potential to hit the $12 billion net profit target for the first time. With a strong TV reputation (the South Korean company is the world’s best-selling TV manufacturer), they shipped 5.7million tellies in the second quarter of 2009 – an 18.5 per cent share of the global TV market.

This is largely thanks to the LED-backlit LCD panels, which are the fastest-growing segment in the market. Samsung claims they’ll sell two million in 2009, and an astonishing 10 million in 2010.