Samsung?President DJ Lee presents the new phablet Galaxy Note 4 at the Unpacked 2014 Episode 2 event ahead of the IFA Electronics show in Berlin, Sept 3, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of chips, smartphones and flat screens, saw its operating profit drop 60 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, regulatory filing showed Tuesday.

Preliminary figure for Samsung's operating profit was 4.1 trillion won ($3.85 billion) in the three months ending Sept. 30, down 59.65 percent from the same period of last year. From three months before, the profit was down 42.98 percent.

It marked the lowest since the third quarter of 2011 when the operating profit recorded 4.33 trillion won.

Samsung's operating profit fell below the 8-trillion-won level in the second quarter before staying below the 5-trillion-won mark in the third quarter for the first time in about three years.

Revenue was 47 trillion won in the third quarter, down 20.45 percent from a year earlier. From three months ago, the revenue declined 10.22 percent.

It was the first time since the second quarter of 2012 that Samsung's revenue fell below the 50-trillion-won level.

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