Contract manufacturer Foxconn forecast revenue in the opening quarter of 2024 to decline year-on-year, following a fall in December 2023 due to slowing demand for cloud, networking and computing products.

Revenue in December 2023 tumbled 26.9 per cent year-on-year to TWD460.1 billion ($14.9 billion), with Q4 sales slipping 5.4 per cent to TWD1.9 trillion. 

The drop is the major Apple supplier’s third consecutive quarterly decline, with full-year sales falling 7 per cent to TWD6.2 trillion.

Its performance in the final quarter of 2023 was hit by declines in smart consumer electronics, cloud and networking products, and computing equipment.

Sales of components and other products were flat.

The Taiwan-headquartered company last posted a quarterly gain in Q1 2023, when revenue rose 3.8 per cent to TWD1.5 trillion.

Last week, analysts with UK-headquartered bank Barclays downgraded Apple’s stock due to expected slowing demand for iPhones.