After September, consumer electronics sales dipped from a high base; Foxconn (2317. TW), the world’s largest contract electronics maker and Apple supplier, predicted robust year-end holiday sales on Thursday.
Taiwan’s IT businesses thrive in the fourth quarter as they rush to sell smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets to big vendors like Apple (AAPL.O) for Western year-end holidays.
This month, Apple released a new generation of iPhones with a titanium shell, a speedier CPU, and enhanced video game performance. Still, it did not boost pricing for the iPhone 15, reflecting the worldwide smartphone recession.
Foxconn stated that activities “will ramp up sequentially” during the “traditional peak season” for consumer electronics items in the year’s second half.
“The fourth quarter should see significant growth compared to the third quarter,” it said without explanation.
Foxconn topped second-quarter profit projections in August because of a rising AI industry, but it remained cautious for this year due to global economic uncertainty. Foxconn’s sales were T$660.7 billion ($20.46 billion) last month, down 19.7% year-over-year but up 60.1% from August.
On-year third-quarter revenue was down 11.7% but increased 18.4% from the prior quarter. Foxconn claimed its smart consumer electronics sales, including smartphones, increased “due to new product launches in September.”
Foxconn, the world’s largest iPhone manufacturer, is diversifying into electric cars.
Last month, higher auto component shipments drove year-over-year growth for its components and other goods segment. Cloud and networking goods, including servers, saw lower September sales owing to “conservative customer pull-in.”
On Nov. 14, Foxconn will report third-quarter profits and provide a forecast. Foxconn’s Taipei-listed shares rose 0.5% on Thursday ahead of its September sales, while the market rose 1.1%. Foxconn is worth $44.1 billion after rising 3.6% this year.
