Apple-supplier Foxconn flags strong start to year as lockdowns spur electronics demand

FILE PHOTO: Staff wear masks to protect themselves from coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while listening to the annual general meeting at the lobby of Foxconn's office in Taipei, Taiwan, June 23, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File photo

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Apple supplier Foxconn said it expects first-quarter revenue to rise more than 15% from a year earlier, boosted by strong iPhone sales and robust demand for electronics during lockdowns worldwide to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world's largest contract electronics manufacturer has previously forecast strong demand for the new iPhone 12, saying its business will be supported by "stronger than expected" sales for smartphones and for telecommuting devices amid a coronavirus-induced work-from-home trend.