Samsung Electronics has cut, by $2.3bn (£1.9bn), its third quarter profits forecast, in a revision to figures issued only days ago amid its smartphone crisis.

The company made the announcement in a surprise regulatory filing after financial markets closed in South Korea.

It has endured a torrid week after it was forced, on Tuesday, to scrap its disaster-stricken Galaxy Note 7 smartphone following evidence that replacement handset batteries were also prone to overheating and exploding.

  The company cited the financial impact of pulling the phone – its flagship device – from the market for its decision to cut its third quarter operating profit guidance to $4.66bn from $7bn.

It added that revenues for the July-September period had also been adjusted. The company had only issued its initial guidance for the quarter last Friday.

  That filing had forecast a 6% increase in operating profits compared to the same period in 2015 – boosted by strong trading in its component businesses.

  A drag from its smartphone division was already expected but the update to its guidance reflects the serious turn of events in the fallout from the Note 7 recall – with costs rising and its brand image taking punishment.

  Samsung also announced on Wednesday it has been forced to fork out for fire-resistant packages to send to its customers in the US so they can safely return devices to retailers.

The shipping boxes, the company explained, were a legal requirement for shipping lithium-ion batteries or products containing them.