Apple says worldwide iPhone supply will be 'temporarily constrained' due to coronavirus

The tech company said production has been slow to resume at its China plants.

February 17, 2020, 5:15 PM

Apple said Monday that its worldwide iPhone supply will be "temporarily constrained" due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement to investors, the company also said it has experienced a lower demand for its products within China due to the spread of the virus, officially named COVID-19.

As a result of these two factors, the company said it does not expect to meet the revenue guidance it provided for the second quarter.

The announcement comes as China's National Health Commission said there were 70,548 reports of confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,770 deaths on the Chinese mainland.

A handful of other U.S. and international companies have already begun to feel the financial impacts of the outbreak that has crippled the world's second-largest economy.

PHOTO: People wearing protective masks are seen in an Apple Store, as China is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Shanghai, Jan. 29, 2020.
People wearing protective masks are seen in an Apple Store, as China is hit by an outbreak of the new coronavirus, in Shanghai, Jan. 29, 2020.
Aly Song/Reuters, FILE

Apple said that its iPhone manufacturing sites are all located outside of Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, and that all of these facilities have reopened. Production, however, has ramped up "more slowly than we anticipated," the company said.

The iPhone supply shortages are expected to "temporarily affect revenues worldwide," it added.

Finally, the company said that all of its stores in China have been closed at some point due to the outbreak. Of the stores that have begun to re-open, many of them have reduced hours and not a lot of customers.

Its online stores have remained open throughout the outbreak.

The company emphasized that it expects this disruption to its business to be temporary, and that it is doubling it's previously announced donation to relief efforts.

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