UPDATE 1-Foxconn expects Q1 revenue drop after slower Q4 demand

(Recasts, updates throughout)

By Ben Blanchard and Sarah Wu

TAIPEI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker and Apple's biggest iPhone assembler, said on Friday it expected an on-year drop in first quarter revenue coming off a high base, after slower market demand hit the previous quarter.

The first quarter is traditionally quieter than the previous one, the season when Taiwan's tech companies race to supply smartphones, tablets and other electronics to major vendors such as Apple for Western markets' year-end holiday period.

Foxconn said in a statement that this year's first quarter is expected to be similarly slow to the same period of the previous three years, but revenue is expected to decrease year-on-year.

The company does not give numerical guidance.

In the first three months of last year, revenue hit a record high for that quarter, due to factories resuming normal operations following the COVID pandemic.

The company, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said revenue last month reached T$460.1 billion ($14.84 billion), which it said was better than expected even though that was down 26.9% year-on-year.

For the fourth quarter, revenue slid 5.4% year-on-year to T$1.851 trillion, beating a T$1.827 trillion LSEG SmartEstimate, which gives greater weight to forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

Fourth quarter revenue in its smart consumer electronics products, including smartphones, was "flattish" year-on-year due to slower market demand, Foxconn said.

Apple's stock price fell this week after two analyst downgrades on concern about iPhone demand, but it remains the most valuable company by market value worldwide.

Foxconn will report fourth quarter earnings on March 14, when it will also update its outlook.

Foxconn's shares closed flat on Friday ahead of the release of its December sales, compared with a 0.2% drop for the broader market. ($1 = 30.9990 Taiwan dollars) (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Sarah Wu; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Barbara Lewis)