Apple Orders Expected to Help Boost Hon Hai's 2011 Sales

Taipei, Oct. 28, 2010 (CENS)--Brisk Apple contracts for iPhone, iPad, iPod Nano, and iMac/MacBook are expected to help boost Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.'s sales to NT$1.3 trillion (US$41.9 billion) next year, surging 86% from this year's NT$700 billion (US$22.5 billion), says W.K. Chang, an analyst with Citigroup Global Markets Inc. tracking IT manufacturing industry in Asia-Pacific region.

Chang pointed out that to meet Apple's growing demand, Hon Hai will increase its staff dedicated to manufacturing Apple products to 300,000-400,000 next year, much higher than the combined 200,000 workers at Quanta Computer Inc., Compal Electronics Inc. and Winstron Corp. doing the same manufacturing.

Hon Hai will ship 70 million iPhones, 35 million iPads, 10 million iPod Nanoes, and one to two million iMac/MacBooks throughout next year.

Taiwan's contract manufacturers of Apple products estimate around 16-17 million iPhones and 6-6.5 million iPads will be shipped this quarter alone.

To cope with robust demand for Apple products, Hon Hai will invest around US$10 billion to construct a new factory in Chengdu, China, where 52 new production lines will be installed to boost output of iPad to 40 million a year, as well as create 100,000 jobs.

Chang pointed out that iPad is a better order for its bigger shipment volume: 30-40 million units a year vs. a combined 30 million tablet PCs a year by Taiwan's 10 suppliers.