Samsung earnings decline 60% in worst quarterly performance

S. Korean smartphone maker loses more ground to rivals from China

Samsung Electronics Co posted its biggest drop in quarterly profit since 2009, as the world's largest smartphone maker lost further ground to Apple Inc and other Chinese competitors.

Operating profit fell 60 percent to 4.1 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in the three months ended September from a year earlier, the Suwon, South Korea-based company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday.