Ahead of its first-quarter earnings, South Korean handset manufacturer Samsung has issued a preliminary financial statement notifying shareholders that profits are set to rise by 53 per cent year on year.

The profit figure for the quarter will reach around SKW8.7tn ($7.7bn), the Korean firm said. Revenue for the quarter is expected to reach approximately SKW52tn. The company will post its final 1Q13 results on the April 26.

The Korean firm will be launching its flagship handset, the Galaxy S4, later this month and profits are expected to rise even further in the second-quarter as a result.

Last week, it was revealed that the handset firm is collaborating with open source software provider Mozilla on a web browser engine called Servo. The engine’s code is written in Rust, a systems language that has been in development for several years by Mozilla and a community of open source enthusiasts.

Last month, Samsung also appointed two more CEOs to join the current CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon in steering the company. The new appointments recognise the strong performance of Boo-keun Yoon and J.K. Shin, said Samsung. With Yoon as president of the division, Samsung’s TV business maintained and solidified its global leadership position, the firm said.