iPhone maker Hon Hai cuts 2020 sales outlook on impact of coronavirus outbreak
- Foxconn workers returning from outside Henan province, site of its main factory in Zhengzhou, will be isolated for 14 days
- Virtually all of the world’s iPhones are made in China, primarily by Hon Hai in Zhengzhou and by Pegatron at an assembly site near Shanghai
Hon Hai Precision Industry, Apple’s main production partner, has cut its 2020 revenue growth outlook after assessing the potential impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
Foxconn’s Hon Hai, which makes the vast majority of the world’s iPhones from the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, is now projecting a sales increase of 1 per cent to 3 per cent this year, chairman Young Liu told Bloomberg News in a text message. That is down from a January 22 forecast of 3 per cent to 5 per cent before the epidemic spread further around the globe.
Separately, Hon Hai said in a statement Wednesday that workers returning from outside Henan province, site of its main factory in Zhengzhou, will be sequestered for 14 days. Any staff reporting to work who reside within the province itself will be isolated for 7 days, the company added.
Hon Hai, known also as Foxconn, makes the vast majority of the world’s iPhones from Zhengzhou, central China. The company has become a high-profile symbol of how the outbreak, which has killed about 500 worldwide, could disrupt the world’s supply of made-in-China electronics.
The contagion is expected to disrupt Apple’s carefully calibrated production chain centred on China, while also damp consumer demand and overall economic growth.
Hon Hai, an important manufacturer also for major brands from HP to Sony, said Tuesday it still expects to be able to restart facilities throughout China on schedule, according to a text message sent to Bloomberg News. Suppliers such as Quanta Computer, Inventec and LG Display also said they would go back to work next week in China.
