Apple has warned that disruption in China from the coronavirus will mean revenues falling short of forecasts.
The tech giant said production and sales were affected, and that “worldwide iPhone supply would be temporarily constrained”.
Apple, which had forecast record revenues of up to $67bn in the current quarter, did not reveal the likely hit.
“We do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter,” the company said in a statement, adding that it was “experiencing a slower return to normal conditions” than expected.
With most stores in China either closed or operating at reduced hours, sales of Apple products would be lower, the company said.
Apple said that “while our iPhone manufacturing partner sites are located outside the Hubei province – and while all of these facilities have reopened – they are ramping up more slowly than we had anticipated.
All of Apple’s iPhone manufacturing partner sites have been reopened but are “ramping up more slowly than we had anticipated,” which means that fewer iPhones than expected will be manufactured. As a result, “[t]hese iPhone supply shortages will temporarily affect revenues worldwide,” says Apple.
The impact the virus is having on future product development is unclear. Apple is rumored to be launching a low-cost followup to the iPhone SE in March priced at about $400, and new iPad Pros with better cameras in the first half of the year. Bloomberg’s sources report no change in plans but suggest delays or constraints are possible.
Apple also said it would be doubling a previously announced donation to help with coronavirus relief efforts, though the company hasn’t put a figure to that number.
