TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, on Wednesday said first-quarter profit leapt 91% and beat the market forecast on continued strong demand for artificial intelligence servers.
Net profit for January-March for Apple’s top iPhone assembler and Nvidia’s <NVDA.O AI> server maker came in at T$42.12 billion ($1.39 billion), versus the T$37.8 billion average of 13 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.
Foxconn, formally Hon Hai Precision Industry, last month said January-March revenue jumped 24.2% to a record for that quarter on strong sales of AI servers.
A Sino-U.S. trade spat could dim prospects for Foxconn’s outlook this year, as it has a major manufacturing presence in China, though Washington and Beijing on Monday agreed to slash tariffs for at least 90 days.
Most of the iPhones Foxconn makes for Apple are assembled in China. Foxconn is also building a large manufacturing facility in Mexico – another target of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs – to produce AI servers for Nvidia.
In an earnings report, Foxconn said it should see significant on-year growth in the second quarter, with high double-digit growth year-on-year for AI servers and an accelerating volume production ramp-up.
The manufacturer does not provide numerical guidance.
Foxconn has been looking to expand its footprint in electric vehicles, which it sees as a major future growth generator.
Subsidiary Foxtron Vehicle Technologies and Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors last week announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the supply of an electric vehicle model.
Foxconn has previously said it would consider taking a stake in Nissan for cooperation. Japan’s third-biggest automaker is striving to make its business leaner and more resilient after weak sales in China and its biggest market the United States.
Foxconn holds its earnings call at 3 p.m. (0700 GMT) in Taipei on Wednesday, where it will also update its outlook for the year.
Its shares have fallen 11.4% so far this year, hit by concerns about U.S. trade policy, compared with a 5.4% decline for the broader Taiwan index.
They closed up 3.2% on Wednesday ahead of the earnings call.
($1 = 30.2680 Taiwan dollars)
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
