Apple supplier Foxconn beats profit view, 'cautious' on Q3

TAIPEI: Apple supplier Foxconn reported a higher-than-expected 12 per cent jump in April-June net profit, driven by strong demand for its smartphones and cloud products, and said it was "cautious" about the third quarter but expected growth.

The Taiwanese company, the world's largest contract electronics maker, said smart consumer electronics including smartphones - its main business driver - posted "significant growth" in the second quarter and accounted for half of its overall revenue.

Foxconn, however, said it expects flat revenue growth for that business in the quarter ending September as demand for smartphones and "smart wearable devices" slows after a period of pandemic-fuelled robustness.

The company, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry, has grappled with a severe shortage of chips that has squeezed production, and more recently a downturn in major markets amid high inflation and the war in Ukraine.

Foxconn said it anticipates revenues for cloud and networking products to be strong in the third quarter. It reaffirmed its stance from last month that overall revenue this year will grow, rather than a previous guidance of remaining flat.

It did not provide a numerical outlook.

Net profit for the April-June quarter rose to T$33.29 billion from T$29.78 billion a year earlier.

Eleven analysts were expecting on average a profit of T$31.02 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Foxconn's revenue for the quarter rose 12 per cent to T$1.5 trillion.

Its shares closed 0.9 per cent higher ahead of the earnings release, versus a 0.7 per cent drop in the broader market. They have risen 5.8 per cent so far this year, giving the company a market value of US$50.3 billion.