Seoul, Apr 28 (IANS): Samsung Electronics' first-quarter operating profit posted a double-digit growth on the back of robust sales of Galaxy S7 smartphones, launched earlier than forecast, the company said on Thursday.

Consolidated operating profit reached 6.68 trillion won ($5.84 billion) in the January-March period, up 11.7 percent from a year earlier.

From the previous three-month period, the profit increased 8.7 percent, Xinhua news agency reported.

Revenue grew 5.7 percent over a year earlier to 49.78 trillion won in the first quarter, and net income surged 63 percent to 5.25 trillion won.

The positive first-quarter earnings came as Samsung's mobile phone business posted the highest profit in about two years. Samsung sold a total of 92 million phones in the first quarter.

The local currency's depreciation to the dollar and the euro also contributed to the profit growth, increasing repatriated overseas earnings.

Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones were released earlier than forecast in the first quarter, resulting in profit growth in the smartphone division. Low-end smartphone lineups were simplified, also helping boost profitability.

Meanwhile, Samsung decided to buy back its own shares worth about 2 trillion won, which will be carried out in the next three months.

The repurchased shares, including 1.3 million common stocks and 0.32 million preferred shares, will be cancelled.