Semiconductor Crisis Hits Hard... 'Apple Partner' Foxconn "10% Order Disruption... Impact Until Next Year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Taiwan's Foxconn, a partner of Apple, has predicted that the semiconductor shortage will continue until next year, inevitably affecting iPhone production and other operations. Foxconn is the largest partner responsible for 60% of the global shipment of Apple's iPhones, which exceed 200 million units annually.

According to IT media PhoneArena on the 31st, Foxconn Chairman Liu Young revealed lower-than-expected quarterly results at a performance briefing held the day before. Liu Young explained, "The COVID-19 pandemic and shortages of components such as semiconductor chips may impact future performance," adding, "We are being cautious."

The recent impact from the semiconductor chip shortage was confirmed to be less than 10% of total orders. While expressing concern over the semiconductor crisis, Liu Young drew a line by describing the impact as "limited." He also noted that despite this situation, sales of tablets and other devices have been strong due to so-called stay-at-home demand, stating, "First-quarter sales will be better than usual."

Earlier, Samsung Electronics also acknowledged that supply-demand imbalances caused by the semiconductor shortage could lead to some disruptions in production during the second quarter.

Foxconn's disclosed net profit for the fourth quarter (October to December) was $1.61 billion, a 4% decrease compared to the previous year. This figure fell short of market expectations ($1.78 billion). Foxconn CEO David Huang explained, "While the smartphone business performed well, the company's overall profit was negatively affected by COVID-19."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.