Apple is not expected to meet its sales targets for the current quarter, blaming a coronavirus outbreak for the expected iPhone supply shortage

In a statement posted today (February 17), Apple warned that it "will not meet the revenue guidance it provided for the March quarter" A few weeks ago, when announcing its year-end sales guidance, Apple told Wall Street analysts that sales for the fiscal year ending March 31 this year would be between $63 billion and $67 billion Had Apple been able to achieve that, it would have grown between 9% and 16% year over year

So what has changed between these projections and now? Simply put, the coronavirus epidemic According to sites tracking the disease, 1,775 people have died and over 71,000 infections have been reported

The coronavirus situation is affecting Apple in several different ways, the company said First, factories in China where iPhones are assembled have been delayed in reopening after the Chinese New Year vacation as China deals with the coronavirus situation This has affected Apple's supply of smartphones, meaning lower sales for the quarter

"While our iPhone manufacturing partner sites are located outside of Hubei province - and all of these facilities have reopened - they are ramping up more slowly than we had anticipated," Apple said in a statement The health and well-being of all those involved in the manufacture of these products is our top priority, and we are in close consultation with our suppliers and public health experts as this launch continues"

The coronavirus outbreak has also taken a toll on iPhone sales in China Fearing the spread of the infection, Apple has closed all of its stores in China Many partner stores have also closed, and those that have opened have seen their business shrink

"We are gradually reopening our retail stores and will do so as steadily and safely as possible," Apple said in a statement, adding that demand for the iPhone is on target in other regions

Apple's earnings warning came at the same time the company may be preparing to produce a successor to the iPhone SE A report released today also suggested that the iPhone SE 2 was still slated for a March release New rumors suggest that the new iPhone will be announced on March 31 and the iPhone SE 2 will be in stores in early April

Apple is not the only tech company affected by the coronavirus Last week, moreover, organizers of this month's Mobile World Congress canceled the trade show, where many new smartphones will be unveiled