Apple supplier Foxconn posts surprise rise in quarterly profit

Apple Inc supplier Foxcon reported on Tuesday a surprise 11 per cent increase in third-quarter profit, boosted by strong demand for smart consumer electronics ahead of the year-end holiday shopping season in Western markets.

The Taiwanese company, the world's largest contract electronics maker, said net profit for the July-September quarter rose to T$43.1 billion ($1.3 billion) from T$38.8 billion in the same period the previous year.

The profit beat a T$34.5 billion LSEG SmartEstimate, which gives greater weight to forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

Foxconn said revenue for the fourth quarter would slightly decline year on year, but did not give a reason and maintained its outlook for full-year revenue to also slightly decline.

The world's biggest assembler of iPhones said it expects revenue for its smart consumer electronics division, which includes smartphones, to also fall slightly in the fourth quarter. The division makes up about half of Foxconn's total revenue.