Apple supplier Foxconn’s Q3 profit rises 23pc, tops forecast
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s Foxconn posted a 23 per cent rise in quarterly profit yesterday, as its biggest customer Apple Inc reported better-than-expected earnings thanks to solid sales of mobile devices such as wearables.
Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, reported a net profit of T$30.7 billion (RM4.15 billion) for the July-September quarter, versus an average forecast of T$27.75 billion by 12 analysts. It did not elaborate on the profit rise from T$24.88 billion a year earlier.
The outlook for Foxconn has improved after Apple gave a positive forecast last month for the year-end holiday shopping quarter. But the firm also faces uncertainty as the protracted SinoUnited States trade war could raise tariffs on iPhones sold in the US market. Foxconn manufactures the bulk of Apple’s iPhones in China, and analysts estimate nearly half of its revenue comes from the US firm.
More US tariffs against China are set to take effect on Dec 15, although officials from both sides said they have agreed to roll back tariffs on each others’ goods if a “phase one” trade deal can be negotiated.
Chairman Liu Young-way said he sees slight yearly growth next year in Foxconn’s consumer electronics and smart devices business, which includes smartphones and TVs, thanks to “a stabilising global economy”.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Japan Display reported an 11th consecutive quarterly net loss on sluggish display sales and restructuring costs as the cash-strapped company scrambles to clinch a bailout deal with Apple and other investors.
The liquid crystal display maker for smartphones, which gets more than half of its revenue from Apple, posted a net loss of 25.4 billion yen (RM967.63 million) in the July-September quarter, wider than the 7.8 billion loss a year earlier.
Japan Display, money-losing for the past five years due to slowing Apple iPhone sales and the delayed adoption of organic light-emitting diode screens, did not give a full-year earnings outlook.