Apple Provider Foxconn Projects Lower Quarterly Sales as skepticism About the iPhone Increases
Hon Hai Precision Industry issued a warning about the fourth consecutive quarter of declining quarterly sales, citing dampened consumer electronics demand as seen by a 5.4 percent fall in the last three months of 2023.
The Taiwanese company, Foxconn, ended a NT$1.85 trillion quarter with a sharp 27 percent decline in revenues in December to NT$460.1 billion ($14.8 billion, or about Rs. 1,23,073 crore). Sales of the most recent iPhone generation are already down for the present time as well, which raises further questions about their momentum going into the new year.
As Foxconn’s primary iPhone assembly partner, it offers valuable insights into the general consumer desire for personal technology. When Apple’s iPhone 15 first went on sale in September, it received mixed reviews in important areas. While sales in China fell, the US saw the device spark an upgrade cycle from previous models.
China will be the center of attention for iPhone difficulties this year as local tech giant Huawei Technologies is regaining market dominance with its high-end Mate 60 series, while the country’s agencies and state-backed businesses have expanded their ban on the phone and other Apple devices.
Additionally, late last year, Foxconn became the focus of a regulatory probe in China that rattled investors’ cages and the trust of international businesses doing business there. The Chinese competitor Luxshare Precision Industry, which plans to double its iPhone manufacturing capacity, is posing a rising threat to Taiwan’s gadget manufacturer.
Liz Lee, associate director at Counterpoint Research, projects that iPhone sales volume will increase by 2% this year, falling short of the 5% growth of the mobile industry as a whole. Sales of smartphones from Huawei, however, are anticipated to increase by 37%. The lackluster demand for Apple’s most recent iPhone led Barclays and Piper Sandler to lower their evaluations of the company this week.
Apple provides Foxconn with the majority of its income. In 2023, its total revenues decreased by 7% to NT$6.16 trillion.
