Sales remain flat at iPhone maker

Foxconn assembles the iPhone and other Apple products

Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn, which assembles the iPhone and other Apple products, saw revenue growth slow to 3.38 per cent during 2007, according to a company statement.

Foxconn International Holdings reported preliminary sales of $10.7bn. Net profit increased almost one per cent to $725.4m.

Although maintaining a low profile, Foxconn is a key player in global mobile phone assembly and parts supply.

The company is a major part of a group that manufacturers products or parts for Motorola, Nokia, HP, Nintendo, Dell and Sony among others, according to various industry sources. Foxconn itself rarely identifies its customers.

"Global handset shipments in 2007 exceeded one billion, but consolidation pressure intensified in the competitive global handset OEM market," the company stated.

"The industry witnessed significant shifts in market share among global OEM brands, and the volatile customer demands made major impacts on the industry."

The market was also affected by the "entry of new players resulting from the continual 3C convergence and with uncertain global economic environment triggered by the sub-prime crisis in the US".

The company's roster of employees increased by 13,000 during the year to reach almost 124,000. Foxconn plans to continue the expansion of huge manufacturing plants in China and India.

Foxconn is part of the Hon Hai group, and generates approximately a quarter of its parent's annual revenue.

The company, which grew as a maker of standard connectors for PCs and other electronics products, remains a major supplier of components to other Asian manufacturers.

Slightly more than half of Foxconn's sales revenue is earned from Asia, and a quarter each from Europe and the US.