Apple-supplier Foxconn flags strong start to year as lockdowns spur electronics demand

TAIPEI: Apple supplier Foxconn said it expects first-quarter revenue to rise more than 15% from a year earlier, boosted by strong iPhone sales and robust demand for electronics during lockdowns worldwide to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer has previously forecast strong demand for the new iPhone 12, saying its business will be supported by “stronger than expected” sales for smartphones and for telecommuting devices amid a coronavirus-induced work-from-home trend.

Taiwan-based Foxconn, in a short statement on Thursday, said it expects consumer electronics revenue, which includes smartphones and smart watches, to rise more than 15% in the January-March quarter from a year earlier. It did not elaborate.