Apple supplier Luxshare has reported record revenue and profit in the first half of 2021, thanks largely to the Chinese assembler's increasing involvement in Apple's supply chain.
From a new report by Nikkei Asia:
The Guangdong-based company sometimes called "Little Foxconn," which has been deepening its relationship with Apple and is assembling iPhones for the U.S. technology giant for the first time this year, said first-half revenue grew more than 30% from a year ago to 48.14 billion yuan ($7.42 billion). Net profit was up 22% to 3.08 billion yuan.
In a stock exchange filing, Luxshare said it had achieved the results despite some of its business being postponed due to "multiple external factors" – a reference to the global chip shortage, rising costs of labor and raw materials, and disruptions caused by the global health crisis.
The gains show just how far Luxshare has come since it began its relationship with Apple. In 2013, Luxshare began supplying connectors to Apple before becoming an AirPods assembler in 2017. It added the Apple Watch to its assembly business in 2019.
This month, Luxshare reportedly won 3% of iPhone 13 orders away from Taiwanese rivals Foxconn and Pegatron. Building Apple's premium smartphone is considered to be a major breakthrough for the Chinese company, given that it has never been involved in iPhone production before.
Despite Luxshare's small percentage of iPhone production this year, its involvement has reportedly rattled rival iPhone suppliers are said to be wary of the Chinese manufacturer's competitiveness and the possibility that it could steal away bigger chunks of orders in the future. As a mark of its intent, the company last year paid $472 million to acquire a Chinese iPhone facility from smaller assembler Wistron.
Apple now has more suppliers from China and Hong Kong than from Taiwan, according to Nikkei, and many will have a role in the manufacturing the iPhone 13 series, which is expected to enter mass production this week.
Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 13 and a new Apple Watch at a digital event next month.
