Shares in Apple suppliers decline again as iPhone 8 sales fail to meet expectations
Taiwan’s Hon Hai, Hong Kong listed AAC Technologies and South Korea’s LG Display all post falls
Shares of Apple’s major component suppliers in Asia declined on Monday after the launch of the new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus smartphones generated less sales than many investors had expected.
Compared with previous new iPhone launches, crowds at the company’s stories in Beijing and Shenzhen as well Sydney in Australia were less and touts, who sell phones immediately for profit, were much fewer in number.
“Orders for the iPhone 8 series proved to be far lower [compared with the previous models],” said Victor Au, chief operating officer at Delta Asia Securities. “Investors will treat it as a good excuse to take profit after these suppliers surged a lot on the iPhone launch news.”
However, the iPhone X, which will go on sale on November 3, may be popular with customers, Au said. “Maybe it is Apple’s price strategy ... the high price of the iPhone X could be more acceptable for customers based on the price of the iPhone 8, for which Apple itself may not hold high expectations,” he added.
Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision, which assembles the iPhone and other Apple devices under its trade name Foxconn Technology, fell again on Monday, losing 3.3 per cent to NT$86.3, after its decline of 2.5 per cent on Friday when the new phones went on sale at official stores.
Hong Kong-listed Cowell e Holdings, a maker of iPhone cameras, tumbled as much as 9.1 per cent to HK$3.3. AAC Technologies Holdings, which relies on Apple for 47 per cent of it sales, slumped 6.7 per cent to HK$127.5. Sunny Optical Technology dropped 5.7 per cent to close at HK$123.8.
Among suppliers on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, Zhejiang Quartz Crystal Optoelectronic Technology, which supplies optical filters to Apple, declined 2.6 per cent to close at 24.3 yuan, while acoustic component company GoerTek dropped 4.4 per cent to 19.4 yuan.
South Korean screen maker LG Display, a supplier of liquid crystal displays for existing iPhone models, fell 1.7 per cent.
