Foxconn has posted revenue of NT$1.4624 trillion (+4 percent), gross profit of NT$88.3 billion (+4 percent) and operating net profit of NT$40.5 billion (+11 percent) during January-March quarter.
Gross profit margin, operating profit margin and net profit margin were 6.04 percent, 2.77 percent, and 0.88 percent, respectively.

Foxconn has posted a 56 percent plunge in first-quarter net profit to T$12.8 billion ($417.17 million) from T$29.45 billion in the same period the previous year.

The world’s largest contract electronics maker attributed the slump to a T$17.3 billion write-down related to its 34 percent stake in Japanese electronics maker Sharp.

While inventory levels were higher than average, the company was actively adjusting those levels, Foxconn Chief Financial Officer David Huang said. They were controllable and would be lowered to a relatively low point by the end of this quarter.

Foxconn, one of the key suppliers to Apple, said it expected revenue for its key consumer electronics products to decline in the second quarter. That group includes smartphones and makes up more than half of Foxconn’s total revenue.

Foxconn expects revenues for cloud and networking products in 2023 to be flat, compared to a previous forecast of significant growth for those sectors.

Overall, revenues for the second quarter would fall, while the company maintained its full-year forecast for revenues to be flat.

Japan’s Sharp reported a full-year loss of $1.9 billion after writing down the value of its panel display business and a swathe of other assets.

Foxconn, which assembles around 70 percent of iPhones, has been diversifying production away from China, whose strict COVID restrictions disrupted its biggest iPhone plant last year. The company is also seeking to avoid a potential hit to its business from mounting trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Foxconn, which wants to replicate the success it has had with Apple’s iPhone with electric vehicles (EV), said it has been approaching traditional car makers with regard to the EV business.

Foxconn Chairman Liu Young-way in its earnings report said the outlook for year 2023 remains flattish, with low visibility, particularly as monetary tightening, coupled with geopolitical tensions, inflation and other uncertain factors impact the economic outlook.

Liu was optimistic about the growth of CSP or AI servers, pointing out that Hon Hai’s server revenue reached NT$1.1 trillion last year alone. As a leader in server manufacturing, the Group will benefit from the demand for related infrastructure.