Apple's Key Supplier Foxconn's Gross Profit Hit 7 Year High In Q3, Aims To Expand AI Capabilities By Next Year

Apple Inc.‘s AAPL Taiwan-based supplier Foxconn HNHPF reported its third-quarter results on Thursday. The company, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, said its profit margins improved across the board.

According to the company’s press release, its gross profit margin hit a quarterly record high not seen since 2017. Net profit attributable to owners of the parent company in the third quarter grew by 31% sequentially and 11% annually to NT$43.1 billion or $1.3 billion.

Gross profit margin and operating profit margin also displayed improvement on a sequential and annual basis. With an earnings per share at NT$3.11 or $0.095, the company reported revenue of NT$1.5432 or $47.3 billion indicating a quarterly increase of 18% but a 12% decrease year-on-year.

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What Happened: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Young Liu said that the six operational pillars outlined at the beginning of this year, ranging from information and communications technology, and new business development to global footprint and ESG practice were implemented according to plan, despite a few challenges.

Liu also highlighted the important influencing factors to observe next year, which include, are monetary policy, inflation and the political and economic situation. “In addition, with global economic growth expected to slow down next year, the group will hold a relatively neutral view on the outlook for ICT in 2024. Hon Hai will do its best to maintain operational stability, meet customer needs, and leverage the company’s strengths,” he added.

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Why It Matters: “Hon Hai is transforming from a manufacturing service company into a platform solution company,” added Liu. The company’s proposed focus areas for the future include developing platforms for smart cities, smart manufacturing and smart electric vehicles.

With the ongoing artificial intelligence boom, the company said that it will focus on developing its three major platforms powered by AI factories. The AI factories will analyze a large amount of data and generate various new application content or solutions through self-learning.

On the electric vehicle front, the company in its press release said that it has a total of 51 projects in progress, of which 23 are in the discussion and development stage involving 14 potential customers.

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