Samsung sees double-digit margins, 11 phones

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics) expects to maintain double-digit operating margins in the medium term for its handset business, a marketing executive said on Monday.

David Steel, vice president for marketing at Samsung, said medium term refers to a roughly one-year time frame. He said maintaining average selling prices for its phones is important even as it sells to emerging markets.

"It does not mean we are opening the gates for cheap products. We need to sell something with more of a premium," Steel told analysts on the fringes of the Mobile World Congress.

Samsung executives said the company will unveil 11 new handsets at the wireless trade event.

(Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Quentin Bryar)