Foxconn reports sharp rise in first-quarter net profit

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn on Tuesday reported a 72 percent jump in net profit during the first three months of 2024. Photo: Sam Yeh / AFP Source: AFP

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn on Tuesday reported a 72 percent jump in net profit during the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period last year as demand for investment in AI technology grows.

The firm -- also known by its official name Hon Hai Precision Industry -- is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer and assembles devices for several companies, most notably Apple's iPhones.

It said net profit for January-March rose to NT$22.01 billion ($679 million) from NT$12.83 billion the year before.

The boost is the third consecutive quarter of profit growth for the Taiwanese firm.

Foxconn's CEO Young Liu had in the past credited its steady performance growth to strong demand for generative AI, a technology has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years.

It has declared ambitions to move beyond electronics assembly, investing significantly to be part of the AI technology market to transition into a "comprehensive situations platform provider".

Most notably, Foxconn announced last October it would team up with US chip giant Nvidia to create "AI factories" -- powerful data-processing centres that would drive the manufacturing of next-generation products.

The bulk of Foxconn's operations is based in China, and it is the country's largest private-sector employer with more than a million workers nationwide.

But it is looking to diversify its manufacturing supply chain after production was impacted by three years of strict Covid policies, a bout of industrial unrest and diplomatic tensions with the United States.

In November, Foxconn said it was planning to invest an additional US$1.54 billion investment in India for "operational needs", after announcing the purchase of a huge tract of land on the outskirts of tech hub Bengaluru last year.