The illness has killed 1,770 in China and stricken some 70,500 people.
Apple
Inc warned on Monday it was unlikely to meet a sales target set just
three weeks ago amid lost production and weakening demand in China
from the coronavirus
outbreak.
The
illness has killed 1,770 in China and stricken some 70,500 people,
with millions of others confined to their homes and factories slow to
reopen after the Chinese New Year holiday break was extended due to
the virus.
Manufacturing
facilities in China that produce Apple's
iPhone and other electronics have begun to reopen, but they are
ramping up more slowly than expected, Apple said. That will mean
fewer iPhones available for sale around the world, making Apple one
of the largest Western firms to be hurt by the outbreak.
Some
of its retail stores in the country remain closed or are operating at
reduced hours, which will hurt sales this quarter. China accounted
for 15% of Apple's revenue, or $13.6 billion, last quarter, and
supplied 18% of revenue in the year-ago quarter.
In
late January, Apple had forecast $63 billion to $67 billion in
revenue for the quarter ending in March. It did not offer a new
revenue estimate nor provide a profit forecast on Monday.
"The
magnitude of this impact to miss its revenue guidance midway through
February is clearly worse than feared," Wedbush analyst Daniel
Ives wrote in a note.
Apple's
stock is expected to face a knee-jerk reaction on Tuesday, when Wall
Street reopens after the Presidents Day holiday, Ives said.
Analysts
have estimated that the virus may slash demand for smartphones by
half in the first quarter in China, the world's biggest market for
the devices.
"The
health and well-being of every person who helps make these products
possible is our paramount priority," Apple Chief Executive Tim
Cook said in a statement released by Apple. It will reopen China
stores "as steadily and safely as we can," the company
added.
