Foxconn posts 2Q 2013 revenue of $30b, up slightly year-on-year despite slowing Apple orders

Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn has posted revenue of NT$897 billion ($30 billion) for the second quarter of 2013, chalking up a 0.6 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, according to company statements (via Bloomberg News). 

The figure came in above expectations of an average NT$829 billion estimated by 13 analysts in a Bloomberg compilation, and may hint that Foxconn’s efforts to reduce its reliance on Apple may be showing signs of fruition.

Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer by revenue, and has taken on most major electronics brands as its clients. It is most widely known as Apple’s largest supplier. However, Apple has been diversifying its supply chain, outsourcing part of its iPhone and iPad production to another Taiwanese manufacturer Pegatron, as it seeks to create more balance.

In the first quarter of 2013, Foxconn recorded a 19.2 percent decline in revenue to NT$809 billion amid a faster-than-expected decline in iPhone orders. Bloomberg reported it as the company’s biggest revenue decline in at least 13 years.

The second-quarter figure, in comparison, is slightly rosier — but Foxconn still has some way to go. As of the end of May, the company’s revenue stood at NT$1.71 trillion, down 9.9 percent on year. A recent report saying that Foxconn has started a massive recruitment drive to produce the next-generation iPhone noted that compared with the same time last year, Foxconn’s workforce has now declined by about one-third.

Foxconn has been stepping up its efforts to diversify its manufacturing business. The latest Bloomberg report cites more aggressive sales of large-screen televisions and increased orders from Chinese clients — including Beijing-based smartphone maker Xiaomi — as helping Foxconn post a figure that has come in above expectations.

Other than manufacturing, Foxconn is going all out to target downstream processes – which occur after the manufacturing of electronics has taken place. Such steps could eventually enable it to get involved in the entire chain of processes and facilitate the sales of its own products.

Earlier this month, Foxconn was confirmed as a bidder for a 4G license in Taiwan, after it invested $8.7 million in May for a 28 percent stake in Taifo, a local fiber-optic Internet network service provider. Last month, the company announced an official partnership with Mozilla to develop at least 5 new devices, including a tablet, and subsequently it teamed up with Taiwan Mobile to release a low-cost Android smartphone. The company has also unveiled a smartwatch that is compatible with an iPhone.

Headline image via AFP/Getty Images