SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Samsung Electronics says its first-quarter profit has surged nearly 50 percent thanks to the record-high income from its semiconductor division.

The South Korean company said Thursday its January-March earnings jumped 46 percent over a year earlier to 7.7 trillion won ($6.8 billion).

The result beats expectations. Analysts according to data provider FactSet expected a net income of 7.1 trillion won.

Sales rose 2 percent over a year earlier. Operating profit surged 48 percent to 9.9 trillion won ($8.7 billion).

The stellar results come after tough months for Samsung, which had its executives indicted on corruption charges and its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone recalled twice.

Samsung's mainstay chip division fueled the profit surge as strong sales of memory chips for computers and mobile devices led to a record-high profit.