Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn) booked sharply slower revenue growth in Q4 after a rise in Covid-19 (coronavirus) cases impacted its operations in China, with the company declining to release a forecast for the current quarter.

In a statement, the contract manufacturer merely noted the outlook for Q1 is expected to “be roughly in line with market consensus”.

The company said production of smart consumer electronics products, which includes iPhones, returned to normal in December, resulting in flattish revenue year-on-year in Q4.

Sales in the closing quarter of 2022 increased 3.5 per cent to TWD1.96 trillion ($63.8 billion). It said cloud and networking products recorded double-digit growth, benefitting from strong server demand.

Revenue for the full year grew 10.5 per cent to TWD6.6 trillion.

It reports full Q4 earnings on 15 March.

Following protests over lockdown measures at its largest iPhone assembly facility in China, the company in early November revised downwards its Q4 earnings forecast.

Revenue in Q3 increased 24.4 per cent year-on-year to a record TWD1.7 trillion.