Apple-supplier Foxconn profits plunge 56%

Foxconn, which assembles about 70% of iPhones, has been diversifying production away from China, whose strict covid restrictions disrupted its biggest iPhone plant last year.

Apple-supplier Foxconn posted a 56% plunge in first-quarter profit, lagging forecasts in its biggest quarterly fall in three years. 

The Taiwanese company said net profit for the January-March quarter fell to $417m, which the world's largest contract electronics maker attributed the slump related to its 34% stake in Japanese electronics maker Sharp.   

"Going forward we will work harder on the management of our investment businesses," Foxconn chairman Liu Young-way said on an earnings call, pointing to the Sharp loss.

Foxconn, which wants to replicate the success it has had with Apple's iPhone with electric vehicles, said it had been approaching traditional car makers with regard to the electric vehicle business.

Foxconn said it expected revenue for its key consumer electronics products to decline year-on-year in the second quarter. That group includes smartphones and makes up more than half of Foxconn's total revenue.

Overall, revenues for the second quarter would fall, while the company maintained its full-year forecast for revenues would be flat.

Foxconn, which assembles about 70% of iPhones, has been diversifying production away from China, whose strict covid restrictions disrupted its biggest iPhone plant last year. 

The company is also seeking to avoid a potential hit to its business from mounting trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Foxconn has acquired the former General Motor plant in Lordstown, Ohio, and has also hired a former Nissan executive, Jun Seki, to lead its efforts in electric vehicle business expansion.

Last week, Lordstown Motors warned it might be forced to file for bankruptcy due to uncertainty over a $170m investment deal with its major shareholder Foxconn. 

• Reuters