Foxconn announces $226 million half-year net loss, blames usual suspects

ManufacturingbehemothFoxconn (Hon Hai) has announced a record net loss of $226 million on turnover of $2 billion for the first half of the year. Unsurprisingly, it attributed the loss to the European debt crisis, global economic slowdown and its customers "continuous struggle" for market share. While it made a big push to encourage new customers, capacity far outstripped demand. In order to stem the tide, it's relocating some of its Shenzhen-based facilities to sites in Northern China -- and it's also in talks with carriers to become an ODM, building white-label smartphones in the same way that Huawei and ZTE do. While the loss isn't a rosy picture, the company does have nearly $2 billion stashed in the bank, so it shouldn't be worrying too much.