Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS.O), a key Apple Inc. supplier, cut sales and profit forecasts late Tuesday.

Fiscal first-quarter revenue will be about US$970 million, down from prior guidance of between US$1 billion and US$1.02 billion. Earnings, excluding certain items, will be US$1.81 to US$1.84 a share, versus a previous forecast of US$1.91, the company said.

Chief Executive Officer Liam Griffin blamed the lowered outlook for the period ended Dec. 28 on "unit weakness across out largest smartphone customers." He didn’t mention Apple, but the iPhone maker is Skyworks’ biggest customer, accounting for about half of its revenue.

Skyworks gained more than 3 per cent in extended trading after the update.

"People were expecting a lot worse," Woo Jin Ho, Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst, said. "Some of the bad news was already baked in and things just seem to have gotten a little bit worse towards the end of the quarter."

Skyworks gave its earlier first-quarter forecast on Nov. 8, a few days before other Apple suppliers began raising concerns about disappointing iPhone sales. That presaged Apple’s first revenue guidance cut in almost two decades, which Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook announced last week.

Skyworks shares have lost about a quarter of their value since the beginning of November. The company, based in Woburn, Massachusetts, will report quarterly results on Feb. 5.