Samsung Electronics posted a near 40 percent fall in first quarter net profit Wednesday, missing analyst estimates despite a surge in memory chip demand that cushioned a slump in smartphone sales.

Facing increasing competition from archrival Apple and smaller Chinese manufacturers, the world's top handset maker reported a net profit of 4.6 trillion won ($4.3 billion) for the January-March period, down 38.9 percent from a year earlier.

Operating profit also fell 29.6 percent on-year to 6.0 trillion won, largely in line with the firm's earlier forecast.

But in a sign that the South Korean electronics giant might be turning a corner after successive quarters of significant declines, the operating profit was up 13.1 percent from the fourth quarter of last year.