SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Samsung Electronics, South Korea's tech behemoth, posted record earnings last year due mainly to outperformance in its chip-making business, a regulatory filing showed Thursday.

Revenue rose 1.8 percent over the year to reach a new record high of 243.77 trillion won (219.34 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018.

Operating profit gained 9.8 percent to hit a fresh high of 58.89 trillion won (53 billion U.S. dollars), and net income grew 5.1 percent to 44.34 trillion won (39.9 billion U.S. dollars), the biggest ever recorded by the company.

The record earnings were attributable to the outperformance in Samsung's semiconductor business, which recorded an operating profit of 44.57 trillion won (40.1 billion U.S. dollars) last year.

The chip-making profit accounted for 75.7 percent of Samsung's total operating profit in 2018.

During the October-December quarter, Samsung's revenue declined 10.2 percent to 59.27 trillion won (53.33 billion U.S. dollars) compared with a year earlier.

Operating profit sank 28.7 percent to 10.8 trillion won (9.72 billion U.S. dollars) in the fourth quarter, and net income plunged 31 percent to 8.46 trillion won (7.61 billion U.S. dollars).