Hon Hai, Foxconn see February sales fall 18% due to novel coronavirus

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Hon Hai Precision Industry, parent of Apple supplier Foxconn, said its February sales fell more than 18% in February as the company wrestled with the fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak in China.

Year-to-date sales for Hon Hai are down more than 14%.

The news comes as the technology industry and enterprises are being hit by COVID-19, a virus spreading around the world. Workers are being told to stay home as cities and states attempt quarantines to slow down the virus.

Hon Hai's February sales come two days after Foxconn outlined that its revenue would fall 15% in the first quarter. Foxconn doesn't expect any revenue growth in the first half. The company did note that the virus impact would be short term and the supply chain would recover. 

Here are a few slides from that March 3 presentation. 

 Wedbush technology strategist Brad Gastwirth said reports out of China reinforce his view that "if nothing changes, the Chinese supply chain will largely be back to normal operating conditions in the Q2 time frame."

But Gastwirth added:

We think the question now is how much will COVID-19 (and changes in consumer/corporate behavior and government policy aimed at halting transmission) impact end market demand.