EL SEGUNDO – Foxconn’s share of the global contract electronics manufacturing market could reach 50% next year as demand for Apple products skyrockets.

Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai, had a 44.2% share last year, research firm iSuppli said. But its revenues were up 54.1% year-over-year through the first quarter.

"Foxconn's customers are some of the hottest companies in the electronics business today, most notably Apple," said iSuppli’s Thomas Dinges in a press release. "As Apple and others have gained share, so has Foxconn."

A supplier to Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Sony and Nokia, Foxconn could benefit most from Apple’s higher forecasts for the iPad, now pegged at 12.9 million this year and 36.5 million next year. Meanwhile, iPhone shipments are forecast to reach 53.5 million next year, more than double the 25.1 million shipped in 2009, iSuppli said.

Foxconn’s gross margins may be squeezed in the process, however. Margins dropped 80 basis points from a year ago to 8.7%. “Margins are a key area for Hon Hai, as the company is working to implement higher wage rates in its large facilities in China, while shifting production over the next several quarters to lower-cost regions in that country,” Dinges said.

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