It's being reported today in a supply chain report that Apple Supplier GIS, an affiliate of Foxconn, has reported consolidated revenues of US$24.74 million in April, soaring 11.9% on month and marking the third consecutive month for the company to register a positive monthly revenue growth.

GIS's revenue expansion was mainly fueled by increased shipments of LCD touch display panels to support iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 devices that have seen better-than-expected replacement demand since late February 2018, the sources said.

GIS expects a 20% sequential increase in shipments to Apple in the second quarter to significantly drive up its revenues and gross margins for the quarter, the sources added.

The sources said new iPhone devices to be rolled out in the second half of 2018 are widely believed to carry high price tags, prompting consumers, especially those in China, to choose the existing iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 devices instead of waiting for the upcoming models. Even the Red iPhone 8, which is the same in hardware specs to iPhone 8 devices released in the autumn of 2017, has won great patronage from China consumers following a cut of CNY900 (US$141.40) on its unit sales price soon after it was launched in April 2018.

The sources said that TPK and GIS are expected to share orders for touch panels for the upcoming OLED iPhones at a ratio of 40:60, while equally sharing orders for LCD panels for other new iPhone devices.

Both firms expect their revenues for the second half of the year to pick up sharply from the first half. Prospects for Apple supplier TPK in calendar Q2 doesn't  seem as positive as  sources fear that iPhone X demand may begin to dip in the coming quarter.

Strong demand for iPhones with LCD displays will continue this year as Apple prepares to introduce a new 6.1" LCD iPhone in September, in time for the 2018 holiday quarter.

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