As Samsung Group tries to move past a series of scandals, the giant Korean conglomerate is finding a point of pride in its profit.

One of the conglomerate’s companies, Samsung Electronics, said on Friday that it expected to post record earnings in the second quarter, driven by a booming semiconductor business and positive reviews of its latest mobile phone. The earnings are expected to hit $12 billion, which would surpass analysts’ estimates for Apple’s profit for the same period.

The strong figures provide some relief for a conglomerate and a country that have spent much of the past year lurching from crisis to crisis. A South Korean success story long known for its industrial might, Samsung has lately been associated with its exploding smartphone and the corruption trial of its heir apparent.

To critics, the scandals have been offered as proof of the inherent problems with Korea Inc., an insular system dominated by family-run empires known as chaebol.