Foxconn International H1 loss widens

Foxconn International, the world's largest contract cell phone maker, said yesterday its profits in the first half of this year slipped deeper into the red, amid falling of phone prices and higher depreciation costs.

The net loss was $142.6 million, or 2 cents a share over the period, Foxconn said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company's gross profit rate declined to 2.8 percent, compared to 6.6 percent a year earlier. Sales surged 2.12 percent to $3.23 billion.

The company, also a key supplier to cellphone brands such as Motorola and Sony Ericsson, attributed the loss to the decline in prices of its main products and market shares.

Shares of Foxconn International declined 1.59 percent, closing at HK$ 5.56 yesterday.