Apple Becomes the First Major US Company to Say that the ‘Corona’ Epidemic Will Hit Its Finances

The iPhone maker cautions that disturbance in China from the coronavirus will result in revenues falling short of forecasts’. Underscoring the fact that production and sales were influenced, Apple says that “worldwide iPhone supply would be temporarily constrained”. 

Sales of Apple products would be lower, bearing in mind that most stores in China are either closed or operating at reduced hours, the company says, “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 our stores in China and many of our partner stores have been closed,” it added. “Additionally, stores that are open have been operating at reduced hours and with very low customer traffic. We are gradually reopening our retail stores and will continue to do so as steadily and safely as we can.”

Experts have assessed that the virus may contribute towards the reduction in the demand for smartphones significantly in the first quarter in China, the world’s biggest market for gadgets. 

The car industry is yet another sector that has been influenced by disturbance to its supply chain. 

A week ago, the heavy equipment manufacturer JCB said it was cutting production in the UK because of a shortage of components from China. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote in a note to customers, “While we have discussed a negative iPhone impact from the coronavirus over the past few weeks, the magnitude of this impact to miss its revenue guidance midway through February is clearly worse than feared,” 

New virus cases outside the ‘epicenter area’ has been declining throughout the previous 13 days. There were 115 new cases outside Hubei reported on Monday, sharply down from about 450 a week back. In any case, regardless of expectations that factories and shops are slowly easing back to normal, Apple’s warning, however, will underline that China’s economy will be greatly influenced by the coronavirus.