Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors.
On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said.
Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase.
Photo: Fang Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses.
This quarter is traditionally a low season for information and communication technology, but that is expected to be partially offset by the continued rise in AI server rack shipments, Hon Hai said.
First-quarter revenue growth could also be hurt by a high comparison base last year, but sales could still come closer to the higher end of the previous five-year range, the company added.
Hon Hai in November last year said it remains bullish about this year, driven by strong growth in its cloud and networking products.
Last quarter, cloud and networking products — primarily servers — registered a robust year-on-year increase in revenue, in line with the company’s guidance, and electronic components also posted strong sales growth, the company said.
However, smart consumer electronics revenue edged down slightly from a year earlier owing to exchange rate fluctuations, it said, adding that computing products also retreated due to softening demand.
Overall, Hon Hai last year reported robust revenue growth of 18.07 percent year-on-year to NT$8.1 trillion, a record high and better than its earlier forecast, up from NT$6.86 trillion the previous year, the company said.
It was the first time the company’s annual revenue increased by more than NT$1 trillion from a year earlier, thanks to strong growth in cloud and networking products, Hon Hai said.
Growth in its AI server revenue is expected to continue this year and the next two to three years, supported by rising capital expenditure from major cloud service providers, it said.
Capital expenditures from Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Meta Platforms Inc are expected to rise 34 percent to about US$440 billion combined over the next year, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
Meanwhile, chip firms such as Nvidia and memory partner Micron Technology Inc have reaffirmed expectations that AI demand would remain solid in the coming quarters.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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