South Korean gadget maker Samsung Electronics says its operating profits are likely to have risen by 15% for the final quarter of 2015, compared with the year-earlier period.

The expected increase appears to have been fueled by sales of more profitable devices, with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea: SEC) also revealing that fourth-quarter revenues were probably the same as in 2014, at about 53 trillion Korean won (US$44.1 billion).

The world's biggest maker of smartphones expects to report an operating profit of KRW6.1 trillion ($5.1 billion) for the quarter.

Samsung faces growing competition at the lower end of the smartphone market from Chinese device makers such as Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and Xiaomi.

Earlier this week it warned investors that conditions would be tough this year given the slowdown in China's economy and weakness in a number of emerging markets.

In the market for more expensive handsets, meanwhile, the company is locked in a fierce battle with iPhone maker Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL).

Samsung is also a manufacturer of memory chips, TVs and network equipment, but the division responsible for making phones accounted for about 54% of revenues in 2014.

The company's guidance fell short of analyst expectations, according to a Reuters poll, but Samsung's shares closed up 0.8% in Seoul on Friday.

— Iain Morris, , News Editor, Light Reading