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Apple manufacturer Foxconn sees second quarterly fall, unlikely connected to iPhones

Foxconn posted disappointing net profits for the June quarter on Monday, though the results may not be directly connected to its biggest client, Apple.

Foxconn recorded profits of $567.25 million, down from about $580.8 million a year ago, Reuters said. The figure was even further below a $711.45 million mean estimate compiled from nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Apple could potentially be a factor given its outsized importance, but the company shipped 41.3 million iPhones during the same quarter, a small but significant increase year-over-year. Apple's increased shipments have probably improved Foxconn's results compared to if Apple's shipments remained static.

It is likely that the reduced profits stem from operations relating to its other clients. While Apple is a major customer, Foxconn also assembles devices for a number of other firms, with one or more equally likely to have negatively impacted the company's finances.

At least some iPhone production has been diverted to Wistron, and that firm may even be making a portion of this fall's new iPhones. There's also the potential that Foxconn has had to spend extra on equipment and hiring to keep up with Apple's demands.

This fall is expected to see the launch of three new iPhones: 5.8- and 6.5-inch OLED models, plus a cheaper 6.1-inch LCD device. All of these should have edge-to-edge displays and TrueDepth and Face ID, even though the latter is thought to have been responsible for the delayed launch of the iPhone X. The phone arrived in early November, well after the Sept. 22 ship date for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.