Hong Kong (CNN Business) Samsung's operating profit plunged 60% in the first quarter, as the South Korean technology company grapples with the delayed launch of its troubled Galaxy Fold phone and waning demand for its memory chips.

The world's largest smartphone maker reported an operating profit of 6.2 trillion won ($5.3 billion) for the first quarter on Tuesday, compared to 15.6 trillion won ($13.4 billion) the year before. Sales for the three months ended in March dropped around 14% to 52.4 trillion won ($45 billion).

Shares in Samsung fell about 1% in morning trading in Seoul.

profit for the latest quarter was the lowest since late 2016, when Samsung was dealing with Samsung blamed the earnings slump on a stagnant global smartphone market and slowing demand for memory chips. Operatingprofit for the latest quarter was the lowest since late 2016, when Samsung was dealing with the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco . Millions of those devices had to be recalled due to reports of exploding batteries.

The dismal earnings report comes a week after Samsung announced it was delaying the launch of its highly anticipated foldable smartphone. Several reviews of the Galaxy Fold reported defective hinges and screens that broke after removing the Fold's protective film.

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