Samsung posted a record quarterly profit during Q2, yet still fell short of investor expectations.

The South Korean firm announced profits of US$8.5bn during the period, representing an 47% increase from the year previous.

Expecting more from the company, shareholders had hoped for profits as high as US$8.8bn, despite the figures coming in line with expected guidance figures released earlier this month.

A 3.5% drop in mobile profits compared to Q1 shouldn't be considered a concern as the company expects smartphone sales, in particular the Galaxy S4, to be strong during Q3.

"Entering into a typically strong season for the IT industry, we expect earnings to continue to increase," said Robert Yi, head of investor relations at Samsung.

"However, we cannot overlook delayed economic recovery in Europe and risks from increased competition for smartphone and other set products."

Samsung spoke of selling over 10 million GS4 units in May, which they hope will make inroads on industry rival Apple, who revealed sales of 31.2 million iPhones during Q2 earlier this week.