Foxconn expects a decline in demand for “smart” devices

Foxconn, a leading provider to tech giant Apple, forecasts that demand for “smart” electronics will diminish somewhat this year, given a 10 per cent decline in net profit in the fourth quarter, corresponding with what analysts had forecasted.

Reuters reports that the company, which derives over half of its revenue from the production of consumer electronics, expects to see considerable growth this year in other areas such as computers, cloud, network products, and components.

As stated by the company board chairman, Young Liu, the management will have a “relatively conservative attitude” regarding smart devices and believe that a slight drop in demand is possible. He also pointed to factors such as inflation and the slowdown of the global economy.

Foxconn’s name made headlines in November when measures to contain the COVID-19 virus prompted thousands of workers to leave the factory in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou, the world’s largest iPhone maker. This led to production disruptions before the Christmas and January Lunar New Year holidays.

The company said that net profit in the October-December quarter fell from NT$44.4 billion to NT$40 billion ($1.31 billion) a year earlier. The figures were in line with the NT$39.98 billion forecast by 13 analysts, according to Refinitiv Data.

In the fourth quarter, revenues for the consumer electronics sector were steady versus the same period a year earlier, according to the company’s announcement.

Foxconn is investing $700 million in a factory in India

According to people familiar with the situation, Foxconn Technology Group, a partner of technology giant Apple, plans to invest about $700 million in a new factory in India to boost local production.

A Taiwanese company plans to build a factory for the production of iPhone phones on an area of 300 hectares near the airport in Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka, according to anonymous sources. Foxconn could also assemble certain electric car parts in that factory, writes Bloomberg.