The profit portion of South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. among its listed group affiliates declined last year from a year earlier as the smartphone maker reported the weakest earnings in three years, data showed Thursday.
  

The tech firm -- the flagship unit of the country's top conglomerate, Samsung Group -- posted 25 trillion won ($22.9 billion) in operating profit for the January-December period of 2014, accounting for 80.9 percent of the combined operating income from 18 listed affiliates in the same year, according to the data by market tracker FnGuide Inc.
  

The percentage compares with 91.3 percent in 2013.
  

Samsung Electronics had represented the bulk of Samsung Group's profit, with the portion rising sharply from 79 percent in 2012 and 72 percent in 2011, FnGuide said.
  

The drop came as the crown jewel of the family-run conglomerate, headed by patriarch Lee Kun-hee, performed the worst since 2011 as its smartphone sales slowed.
  

Its operating profit for 2014 sank 31.9 percent on-year, the lowest since the 15.6 trillion won of its 2011 operating income.
  

The relatively upbeat earnings by other key affiliates, notably the financial arms, also led to the fall in the portion. Samsung Life Insurance Co. saw its annual operating profit more than double last year from a year ago, pushing up its profit portion in the group to 4.62 percent from 1.39 percent in the cited period.
  

The portion of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co. came to 3.62 percent, up from 1.69 percent, with that of Samsung Card Co. climbing to 2.8 percent from 0.9 percent. (Yonhap)