*

Q3 revenue surges 20% yr/yr to $57.3 billion

*

Revenue for consumer electronics division was flat yr/yr

*

Says Q4 should be in line with current market expectations

(Recasts, updates throughout)

TAIPEI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn,

the world's largest contract electronics maker, beat

expectations to post its highest-ever revenue for the third

quarter on strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI)

servers.

Revenue for Apple's ( AAPL ) biggest iPhone assembler jumped

20.2% year on year to T$1.85 trillion ($57.3 billion).

"The result exceeded the company's original expectations of

significant growth," Foxconn said in a statement on Saturday.

It was also ahead of a T$1.79 trillion LSEG SmartEstimate,

which gives greater weight to forecasts from analysts who are

more consistently accurate.

Strong AI server demand led to robust revenue growth for its

cloud and networking products division, said Foxconn whose

customers include AI chip firm Nvidia ( NVDA ).

For smart consumer electronics, which includes iPhones,

there was a strong quarter-on-quarter growth thanks to new

product launches, but its year-on-year performance was flat.

The third-quarter is traditionally when Taiwan's tech

companies start racing to supply smartphones, tablets and other

electronics to major vendors such as Apple ( AAPL ) for Western markets'

year-end holiday period.

Total revenue in September alone reached T$733 billion, up

10.9% year on year and the second-highest ever level for the

month.

"Entering the peak season in the second half of the year, we

anticipate our operation to gradually gain momentum," Foxconn

said of its outlook for the current quarter.

"The fourth quarter is expected to be roughly in line with

current market expectations," it added, without elaborating.

The company does not provide numerical forecasts.

Foxconn's shares have jumped 86% so far this year,

outperforming by far a 24% rise for the broader Taiwan market

. They closed up 3.7% on Friday ahead of the revenue data

release, bucking a 0.4% fall on the benchmark index.

The company will report its full third-quarter earnings on

Nov. 14. It has scheduled its annual Tech Day on Oct. 8-9, an

event where Foxconn normally announces new products or

partnerships.

($1 = 32.2900 Taiwan dollars)