Foxconn,
the iPhone supplier formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, reported a surprise increase in third-quarter profits.
The Taiwan-based company (ticker: HNHPF) said profits rose 11% in the period from a year earlier, confounding expectations for a loss. Top line revenue nevertheless slipped, and Foxconn said fourth quarter earnings will probably also decline, but would be better than previously expected.
That’s probably good news for
Apple
(AAPL) and electronics makers more generally. The industry has cooled this year along with demand for computers and other devices as shoppers turned their spending to other things after the pandemic. Apple’s prediction for fourth-quarter sales disappointed investors earlier this month.
The results also come as Chinese leader Xi Jinping prepares to meet President Joe Biden in San Francisco on Wednesday. The meeting will be the first in a year between the two, and is an effort to stabilize a relationship that has seemed to deteriorate.
Foxconn shares closed 2.4% higher in Taiwan. Its American Depositary Receipts have lost 8.8% this year.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
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