Apple supplier Foxconn posts better-than-expected Q2 profit

Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, as rising telecommuting demand amid the coronavirus pandemic offset slowing smartphone sales.

Foxconn, whose clients include tech giants such as Apple, reported a net profit of T$22.9 billion ($778.54 million) for the second quarter ended June.

That was up about 34 per cent from a year earlier according to Reuters calculations and better than a consensus estimate of T$17.95 billion drawn from 13 analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Foxconn did not immediately provide any other details.

The firm, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, had in May warned of bleak smartphone sales in the second quarter citing an "enormous" impact on demand due to the virus, but said the work-from-home lifestyles being adopted worldwide would offer new growth opportunities.

Researcher IDC said global smartphone shipments fell 16 per cent from a year earlier in the second quarter.

Analysts, however, expect Apple's new lineup of iPhones, set to be launched in the autumn, to boost Taipei-based Foxconn's revenue recovery in the months to come.

More than 70 per cent of the new iPhones could be assembled by Foxconn, helping the firm's revenue resume growth in the fourth quarter, Taipei-based KGI Securities said.

Shares in the company closed 2 per cent higher ahead of the results, versus a 0.9 per cent fall for the broader market. Foxconn shares have lost more than 10 per cent this year.