Just a few years ago, Samsung Electronics stood as a leading force in the global semiconductor race, dominating one chip sector and eyeing Taiwan’s TSMC in the battle for supremacy in another.

Samsung Electronics Co.’s chip unit plunged a far bigger-than-expected 94% in the June quarter, reflecting the depth of a slump that’s plaguing the world’s largest memory chipmaker.

Samsung Electronics forecast a gradual second-half recovery for its chips business after second-quarter operating profit at the division plunged 94% from a year earlier due to shipment delays and U.S.