Foxconn’s July sales drop 1.23% y/y, Q3 outlook better

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker and a major supplier for Apple (NASDAQ:), said on Saturday revenue in July fell 1.23% year-on-year but forecast a business rebound for the third quarter.

Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said revenue last month reached T$469.23 billion ($14.82 billion), up nearly 11% from June.

The company said revenue was the second-highest for the month of July, thanks to “customers’ increasing pull-in” for its smart consumer electronics products, including smartphones. That segment recorded double-digit growth from a year ago, it said, as major vendors such as Apple gear up for new product launches later this year.

Other businesses, including computing products such as PCs and cloud and networking products, declined from a year ago, the company said, without elaborating.

“With the second half of the year peak season currently underway, operations will gradually ramp up,” the company said in a statement.

“The outlook for the third quarter, which will be better than the second quarter, is expected to increase at an on-quarter pace higher than seen in the previous two years,” it said.

The first half of the year is traditionally slower for Taiwan tech manufacturers as major electronics vendors including Apple launch new products near the year-end holiday season.

Second-quarter revenue dropped 13.8% year-on-year, in line with the company’s expectations, Foxconn said in July. It reports third-quarter earnings on Aug. 14.

($1 = 31.6520 Taiwan dollars)