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The group's logo: The demand is enormous, but supplies are stagnating
Photo: MIKE SEGAR / REUTERS
Business is booming - many digital companies posted record profits yesterday.
But now the global supply problems with computer chips are reaching the IT industry itself. In the coming quarter there will be fewer iPhones and iPads, warned Apple boss Tim Cook when presenting the business figures.
For the past quarter, Apple had predicted three to four billion dollars lower revenues from scarce components for iPads and Macs.
With some of the problems, Apple was able to take countermeasures, so that the burden was lower in the end, said CFO Luca Maestri.
In the current quarter, however, it will hit iPhones and iPads - and the expected decline will be higher, he warned.
Maestri did not name a number this time.
Apple CEO Tim Cook did not comment on whether the bottlenecks could also affect the Christmas business.
Few chips, but big wins
Apple does not have any problems with the supply of the M1 chip produced especially for the manufacturer.
But there are also many other chips built into iPhones and iPads that are now causing problems.
The costs rose elsewhere, Cook explained: "We pay more for transportation than I would like."
Apple doesn't have to worry about the financial cushion for this.
Revenue grew 36 percent year over year to $ 81.4 billion last quarter.
The bottom line was a good $ 21.7 billion left - 93 percent more than a year earlier.
The corporation's reserves are $ 194 billion.
The supply bottlenecks are also noticeable at other manufacturers. Microsoft attributes the decline in the trade in Windows licenses for new computers in the current quarter to the global shortage of chips. The production of its own Microsoft Surface laptop also collapsed: The group reports a 20 percent decline in sales. This was hardly noticeable in the overall result: Microsoft's profit rose by 42 percent to $ 19.1 billion.
Business is accordingly going well for suppliers in the chip industry.
The Munich wafer manufacturer Siltronic reported an increase in sales to 341.1 million euros - an increase of eight percent compared to the previous quarter.
The bottom line was that Bayern earned 64 million euros.
Many industries have suffered from a shortage of computer chips for months.
Car manufacturers have to cut production again and again.
The chip industry is therefore expanding its capacities, which benefits its suppliers like Siltronic: demand is high, prices are rising.
In order to be able to meet the demand, Siltronic announced on Tuesday that it would be building another factory in Singapore, worth billions.
tmk / dpa / Reuters