Investing.com-- Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd (TW:2317), clocked a sharp increase in its first-quarter profit as the Taiwanese electronics giant benefited from increased demand for server technology, although it still missed expectations.
Net profit attributable jumped 72% to T$22.01 billion ($680 million). But the reading was lower than Bloomberg estimates of T$29.1 billion.
A bulk of the quarterly profit jump came from a lower base for comparison from last year, when the company was grappling with a pronounced decline in electronics demand.
While the growing artificial intelligence industry helped offset some of these declines in recent quarters, especially by fueling server demand, broader demand for consumer electronics, which make up a bulk of Foxconn’s earnings, remained weak.
Revenue for the quarter fell 9% year-on-year to T$1.32 trillion.
Weak consumer electronics demand was especially apparent in middling earnings from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which is Foxconn’s biggest customer. The iPhone maker clocked better-than-feared earnings in the first quarter, but still saw a marked decline in sales of its flagship phone in China.
Foxconn said it expected consumer electronics demand to remain weak in the near-term, but that it also saw stronger demand for cloud infrastructure and computing products, especially on the back of AI.