Samsung Electronics, the world's top maker of memory chips and LCD screens, posted its best quarterly profit in 2-years thanks to a turnaround in its memory chip business but maintained caution for the rest of the year.

Samsung's semiconductor business posted a consolidated operating profit margin of 4 per cent, a strong turnaround from its 13 per cent loss margin in the previous quarter. April-June net profit rose 5 per cent to 2.25 trillion won ($1.81 billion) from a year ago, beating an average forecast for 1.68 trillion won in a Reuters poll of 11 analysts.

Higher chip prices also helped Hynix Semiconductor, the No. 2 maker of memory chips, post a sharply narrowed net loss on Friday. Hynix is expected to swing to an operating profit in the current quarter.