Foxconn, the biggest assembler of iPhone smartphones and the world’s largest custom electronics maker, expects its business this year to be «slightly better» than last year, but faces a chip shortage for AI servers, reports Reuters.
«We did pretty well last year, although we had a pretty big write-down in the first quarter,» Foxconn Chairman Liu Young-way said, referring to a write-down related to his 34 percent stake in the manufacturer Japanese electronics company Sharp Corp.»As for the outlook for this year, I think it might be a little better than last year,» Liu added.Foxconn said late last year that it had a «relatively conservative and neutral» outlook for 2024.
Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers will «of course» be good, but global economic uncertainty due to geopolitical issues will affect demand for consumer products , he added. «One market segment will be good, but many others…»Apple on Thursday reported a drop in iPhone sales and forecast total revenue $6 billion below Wall Street expectations as its China business suffered the most.
The results confirmed concerns among some analysts that the company’s flagship product is losing ground in the key Asian market, where consumers buy foldable phones and Huawei phones powered by a Chinese-made chip.Manufacturing capacity for server chips is limited, even with strong demand, Liu said. «When it comes to keeping up with demand, new factories may be needed,» he added.Foxconn shares are down 2.4 percent so far this year, compared with a 0.7 percent advance for the broader market.
