Apple shrugged off the global downturn to report the company’s most profitable quarter thanks to record sales of iPhones and Macintosh computers.
An updated iPhone in June and a new version of its operating system for its Mac computers in August helped the company to raise profits by nearly 50 per cent on the same quarter a year ago. The net profit was $1.67 billion (£1 billion), or $1.82 a share, in its fourth quarter to September 26, up from $1.14 billion, or $1.26 a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts were expecting a profit of $1.42 a share. The results sent Apple’s shares to a new high of $204 in after-hours trading, up 7.5 per cent.
iPhone sales from July to the end of September jumped to 7.4 million, half a million more than last year, despite a lack of stock in some countries. The company sold 3.1 million Macs, a 17 per cent rise from the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 25 per cent to $9.87 billion, well ahead of the average Wall Street estimate of $9.2 billion.
Apple weathered the economic meltdown better than most other consumer electronics companies, Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief finance officer, said. He added: “For the full year, we grew revenue by 12 per cent and net income by 18 per cent in challenging times.” International sales accounted for 46 per cent of the quarter’s revenue.
Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, said: “We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter. We’ve got a strong line-up for the holiday season and some really great products for 2010.”
•The proposed search engine alliance between Microsoft and Yahoo! has received backing from the heads of the four largest advertising agencies, as the pair aim to compete with Google, the market leader. The American Association of Advertising Agencies sent a letter to the Department of Justice, co-signed by the heads of Publicis Groupe, WPP, Interpublic and Omnicom. It said that the alliance “enhances competition” and should take place as soon as possible. In the proposed ten-year deal, Microsoft’s new Bing search engine would power searches on Yahoo!’s sites.
Source : The Times
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