Foxconn International <2038.HK>, the world's top contract cellphone maker, slipped deeper into the red in the first half of the year, hit by falling phone prices and higher depreciation costs as it moves production to inland China to escape high labour costs.

A key supplier to cellphone brands such as Motorola and Sony Ericsson <6758.T>, Foxconn International Holdings (FIH) said on Monday it made a January-June loss of $142.64 million (91.91 million pounds), far worse than the $18.7 million it recorded a year ago.

It also lagged JP Morgan's estimate for a $30 million loss.

FIH, a unit of Taiwan electronics giant Hon Hai <2317.TW>, has been struggling with a wave of labour unrest in China, where increasingly assertive migrant workers are calling for better conditions and higher pay.

(Reporting by Doug Young and Jimmy Tsim)

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