14 DAY TRIAL // Hon Hai/Foxconn has reported a major profit drop in the three-month period ending September 2017, as the company’s earnings were dramatically impacted by the delay the iPhone X experienced.
Foxconn, which makes the iPhone X and the iPhone 8 Plus, report NT$21 billion ($696 million) net income, down from the original forecast of NT$37.2 billion, as Bloomberg reports.
With sales of the iPhone 8 Plus not big enough to compensate for the iPhone X delay, Foxconn expects a return to growth the next quarters when Apple’s anniversary model would become available worldwide without any shipping delay. Right now, the waiting time for the iPhone X is up to 4 weeks, and analysts expect the device to become available in stores for walk-in customers in early 2018.
One of the reasons behind the iPhone X delay was the complex nature of some parts developed by Apple, including the TrueDepth camera that enables Face ID facial recognition and the OLED display with a notch for sensors at the top.
Growth expected in early 2018
Bloomberg notes that Foxconn’s net income was also impacted by Chinese phone makers that recorded growing sales during the said period, including here Huawei and Vivo. Both companies assemble their own devices and do not work with Foxconn for smartphone components.
Analysts expect a strong early 2018 for the iPhone X in terms of sales performance, with sources close to the matter indicating that production issues have already been addressed and suppliers are working 24/7 to ship more units to Apple stores across the world.
Earlier this year, a separate report from Bloomberg indicated that Apple itself reduced requirements for the Face ID facial recognition system in order to make it easier for partners to build camera modules.
The company denied the claims, saying that accuracy of Face ID was not by any means compromised, revealing instead that it was working against the clock to bring the iPhone X in the hands of customers as fast as possible.