Hon Hai Precision Leads Apple-Linked Shares Higher: Taipei Mover
January 30, 2012, 8:00 PM ESTBy Weiyi Lim
Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. led Apple Inc. suppliers higher in Taipei trading after the Cupertino, California-based maker of the iPhone and iPad reported record earnings last week.
Hon Hai, an Apple product assembler, climbed by the 7 percent daily limit to NT$93.80 as of the close, the biggest advance since May 2009. Catcher Technology Co., a maker of iPhone cases, rose 6.9 percent to NT$179, the highest close since Oct. 28. Largan Precision Co., a lens maker, jumped 6.6 percent to NT$628, the highest since Nov. 9.
Apple’s fiscal first-quarter profit more than doubled to $13.1 billion as revenue rose 73 percent to $46.3 billion, the company reported Jan. 24. Looking ahead to the second quarter, Apple forecast revenue of about $32.5 billion and profit of $8.50 a share. That compares with average analyst predictions for sales of $31.9 billion and profit of $7.96 a share. Taiwan trading was closed for a holiday last week.
“Hon Hai could benefit” from Apple’s results, Arthur Hsieh, an analyst at UBS AG, wrote in a Jan. 27 report covering the world’s largest contract manufacturer of electronics. “The growth momentum is much more significant than we expected previously.” UBS raised its recommendation on Hon Hai stock to “buy” from “neutral.”
Apple’s profit surge comes as tech companies including Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. grapple with slower personal- computer sales, partly because customers are buying smartphones and tablets including the iPad instead.
The company sold 37 million iPhones in the period ended Dec. 31, with customers snapping up the new 4S model that went on sale in October, a week after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs. Record revenue vaulted Apple ahead of Hewlett-Packard Co. as the world’s biggest computer maker by sales and quelled concern that the company’s allure may dim as it embarks on a new era with Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook at the helm.
--Editors: Garry Smith, Dave McCombs
To contact the reporter on this story: Weiyi Lim in Singapore at wlim26@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Darren Boey at dboey@bloomberg.net
