TAIPEI, March 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn,

the world's largest contract electronics maker, reported a 13%

drop in fourth-quarter profit as weak performance in its

consumer electronics division offset strength in its AI server

segment business.

Net profit for October-December for Apple's ( AAPL ) top

iPhone assembler and Nvidia's ( NVDA ) AI server maker came in

at T$46.33 billion ($1.41 billion), missing analysts' average

forecast of T$54.4 billion, according to an LSEG consensus

estimate of 15 analysts.

Foxconn said in January its fourth-quarter revenue jumped

15.2% to a record for that quarter on strong sales of AI

servers.

The company, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry ( HNHPF ), has

said it expects first-quarter performance to be better than the

average level of the past five years, and it will see strong

year-over-year growth. It does not provide numerical guidance.

But an escalating global trade war has dimmed the prospects

for its outlook this year, as it has a major manufacturing

presence in China and Mexico, two of the top U.S. trading

partners that now face increased import tariffs from U.S.

President Donald Trump.

Apple ( AAPL ) said last month it will work with Foxconn to build a

250,000-square-foot (23,200-square-metre) facility in Houston,

where it will assemble servers that go into data centres to

power Apple Intelligence.

Foxconn holds its earnings call at 3 p.m. in Taipei (0700

GMT) on Friday, where it will also update its outlook for the

rest of the year.

Foxconn's shares have fallen 8.7% so far this year, hit by

concerns about U.S. tariffs and trade policy.

($1 = 32.9550 Taiwan dollars)