China Coronavirus Outbreak Has Cut Production Of iPhones: Apple Inc

Apple Inc. is warning investors that it won’t meet its second-quarter financial guidance because the viral outbreak in China has cut production of iPhones.

The California-based company said Monday that all of its iPhone manufacturing facilities are outside Hubei province, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, and all have been reopened. But the company said production is ramping up slowly.

“The health and well-being of every person who helps make these products possible is our paramount priority, and we are working in close consultation with our suppliers and public health experts as this ramp continues,” Apple said in a statement.

Demand for iPhones is also down in China

Apple says demand for iPhones is also down in China because many of Apple’s 42 retail stores there are closed or operating with reduced hours. China is Apple’s third largest retail market for iPhones, after the US and Europe.

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Outside China, Apple said iPhone demand has been strong and is in line with the company’s expectations. On January 28, Apple said it expected second quarter revenue between $63 billion and $67 billion. Apple’s second quarter ends March 30. Apple says the situation is evolving and it will provide more information on its next earnings call in April.

Meanwhile, the death toll from China's new coronavirus epidemic jumped past 1,800 on Tuesday after 93 more people died in Hubei province. In its daily update, the province's health commission also reported 1,807 new cases, a decline on the number of new cases reported on Monday. The death count due to the novel coronavirus outbreak in China has surpassed the toll from the SARS outbreak on the mainland and Hong Kong almost two decades ago. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), a disease in the same family as the new coronavirus, left nearly 774 people dead in mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. More than 120 others died around the world.