Apple has warned that the disruption in China due to the coronavirus will begin to hit its sales forecasts.

The tech conglomerate said “worldwide iPhone supply will be temporarily constrained”, according to the BBC.

Apple forecast record-breaking sales of around $67bn (£51.6bn) for this quarter, however, the technology giant has not revealed the hit it could suffer due to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

Most of its stores in China are either closed or operating reduced hours meaning sales would be much lower.

Apple said in a statement: “We do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter.” 

“While our iPhone manufacturing partner sites are located outside the Hubei province – and while all of these facilities have reopened – they are ramping up more slowly than we had anticipated.

“All of our stores in China and many of our partner stores have been closed,” it added. “Additionally, stores that are open have been operating at reduced hours and with very low customer traffic.

“We are gradually reopening our retail stores and will continue to do so as steadily and safely as we can.”