Hon Hai sales hit May high; founder to bag billions in cash dividends

Taipei, June 7 (CNA) Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. recorded its highest ever sales for May as analysts said the iPhone assembler benefited from strong shipments of smart consumer electronics products.

Meanwhile, Terry Gou (郭台銘), founder of Hon Hai, is expected to pocket more than NT$10 billion (US$334 million) in cash dividends when the company issues its dividends at the end of July.

In a report released earlier this week, Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn internationally, said it posted consolidated sales of NT$615.75 billion in May, up 11.92 percent from a year earlier.

That was the highest ever for the company in May, smashing the previous record of NT$550.2 billion, which was set in May 2024.

On a month-on-month basis, the iPhone assembler's consolidated sales fell 3.99 percent in May, the company's data showed.

Analysts said Hon Hai enjoyed a strong increase in iPhone shipments in May as an annual June 18 online shopping campaign in China boosted demand.

In the first five months of this year, Hon Hai had consolidated sales of NT$2.899 trillion, up 21.65 percent from a year earlier on the back of solid growth in its cloud and networking, electronics component, and computing divisions.

Hon Hai said it would likely post a year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter increase in sales in the second quarter, but remained cautious about global economic and geopolitical uncertainties and the impact of a stronger Taiwan dollar against the U.S. dollar.

At its annual general meeting held in late May, Hon Hai forecast consolidated sales of more than NT$7 trillion in 2025, up from NT$6.8 trillion in 2024, as information and communications and artificial intelligence development drives sales growth.

In a separate statement, Hon Hai said it will issue NT$5.8 in cash dividends per share on July 31 on its 2024 earnings per share of NT$10.79.

Hon Hai said it will pay out a total of NT$80.51 billion in cash dividends and, as Gou owns about 1.74 billion shares, he is expected to receive NT$10.1 billion.

The NT$5.8 cash dividend per share was the highest on record since Hon Hai went public in 1991. The payout ratio reached 53.75 percent, the sixth consecutive year it topped 50 percent.