SEOUL (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) on Tuesday flagged a much smaller-than-feared 0.2% fall in first-quarter operating profit, boosted by solid memory chip sales and strong smartphone demand, partly driven by customers concerned about U.S. tariffs.

Sales of conventional memory chips used in consumer devices such as smartphones and AI chips likely came in better than expected, with some customers stockpiling chips ahead of potential U.S. tariffs on semiconductors, analysts said.

The world's largest memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 6.6 trillion won ($4.49 billion) for the January-March period, well above a 5.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate.

That would compare with 6.61 trillion won in the same period a year earlier and 6.49 trillion won in the preceding quarter.

"While general memory prices dipped, strong demand from customers looking to secure inventory ahead of potential U.S. tariffs helped boost Samsung's memory chip shipments, supporting overall performance," said Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities.

Shares of Samsung rose 2.6% in morning trade following its preliminary earnings, outperforming a 1.6% rise in the benchmark KOSPI.

Samsung, reshuffling its top ranks following the sudden death of co-CEO Han Jong-Hee last month, is expected to release detailed results on April 30.

SECOND QUARTER SEEN WEAKER

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a slew of reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, including China. While semiconductors were exempted from reciprocal tariffs, Trump on Thursday reiterated plans to levy tariffs on chips very soon.

Roh said Samsung's AI features in the Galaxy S25 smartphone models helped drive strong sales, adding that preemptive smartphone shipments by North American customers ahead of the tariffs likely contributed to first-quarter results.

Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) in January unveiled its newest Galaxy S25 smartphones, hoping their upgraded AI features could reinvigorate sales and fend off Apple ( AAPL ) and Chinese rivals.

As a result of buyers stocking up in the first quarter, analysts said shipments are likely to decline in the second quarter.

Kim Sun-woo, a senior analyst at Meritz Securities, said Samsung's second-quarter operating profit could stagnate also due to delays in securing new customers for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.

Analysts estimated that Samsung's chip division profit might have halved to about 800 billion won in the first quarter from a year earlier, as losses in the foundry business likely offset profits from the memory chip business.

The foundry business involves making chips on a contract basis for customers such as Nvidia, Qualcomm and AMD.

Samsung in January warned of sluggish sales of its AI chips in the first quarter due to U.S. export restrictions to China, Samsung's top market. Samsung's chairman, Jay Y. Lee, was among executives who met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing at China's annual conference late March.

At a shareholder meeting in March, Samsung executives apologised for the company's poor share price stemming from its late response to the booming AI chip market. They expected chip earnings to recover in the second half on demand for smartphones and data centers, and as it aims to start supplying its improved HBM3E 12-high chips to Nvidia in the middle of this year.

South Korea's SK Hynix ( HXSCF ) the world's second-largest memory chipmaker, said last month some customers have brought forward orders in preparation for new U.S. tariffs, but was wary of counting on a sustained demand recovery.

Micron Technology ( MU ) in March forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, signalling strong demand for its HBM chips used in AI models.

($1 = 1,468.6000 won)

(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Sonali Paul)