Apple surprised investors with its latest quarterly results as they revealed that profits had jumped a whopping 94% compared to the same time last year.
The Cupertino company’s shares rose sharply in after hours trading as the quarterly results were way above what analysts had predicted.
The above record-breaking earnings were attributed to the successful launch of the new iPhone 4S and iPad, with the main driver of growth was the iPhone as they shifted an eye-watering 35.1 million units, which is up 88% from last year’s results.
“International iPhone sales were on fire,” Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer told Reuters in an interview, adding that sales of the smartphone in the Greater China region jumped five-fold from the previous year.
Though the new iPad has only been out a month, sales of the tablet device were very strong; as they sold 11.8 million units in the last quarter.
Though today’s results don’t reflect the sales of the new iPad – it has been revealed that Apple sold 3 million units in the product’s first weekend on sale.
The new Retina Display-enhanced model which launched last month, has since rolled out across the world far more rapidly than previous models.
“We’re thrilled with sales of over 35 million iPhones and almost 12 million iPads in the March quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
“The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you’re going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver.”
“Our record March quarter results drove $14 billion in cash flow from operations,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.
“Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68.”
Sales of their Macintost line of computers were less than stellar, Apple managed to 7% in growth compared to last year’s results, which is leading many to believe that a new refresh is finally just around the corner.
It wasn’t all positive news for Apple, sales for their iPod media player continued to tumble and resulted in a 15% decline with sales of 7.7 million units.
Of all its overseas markets, the company said revenue from the Asia-Pacific region grew the most, more than doubling to $10.15 billion. Sales in the region now account for more than a quarter of total Apple revenue, compared with 19% a year ago.
Apple set out last month what it plans to do with its colossal cash reserves; 10 billion has been set aside for a share repurchase and Tim Cook announced that the company would also pay out a divided to investors, something it has never done before.
WWDC Announced: What Can We Expect?
Apple’s continued growth doesn’t look like it will be stopping anytime soon, especially as the Cupertino company announced the dates for their WWDC (world wide developer conference) which will take place from June 11-15.
No one really has an idea what Apple’s agenda might be for this year’s event, but obviously top of many people’s list is iOS6, as the event is usually software-centric.
There may also be some new Mac software, although it would be very hot on the heels of Mountain Lion. Mac OS Thundercat, anyone?
Apple may well unveil a redesigned App Store as part of it, possibly including revamped recommendation technology from its acquisition of startup Chomp in February 2012.
iPhone 5 Unlikely To Be Unveiled At WWDC, But MacBook Refresh Looks Likely
Any chance of seeing a new iPhone is incredibly slim, Apple has moved the iPhone away from WWDC over the last year, and from the impressive sales of the current iPhone, Apple isn’t likely to release another so soon after the 4S.
Despite rumours to the contrary it’s very unlikely Apple will release the iPhone 5 this summer, especially not at WWDC. With this week’s quarterly results showing astronomical growth in iPhone sales, we’d be very surprised if they were to release the new handset within the next three months.
Apple will more than likely ride out the strong sales as long as they can, waiting for the natural cycle of sales to run their course – especially as Apple will look bring the iPhone to new markets, especially China.
But the MacBook Air and Pro lines are up for a refresh fairly soon, so they could be making a debut at the event too.
In the last WWDC, Steve Jobs presented OS X Lion, iOS 5 and iCloud. The three were very important updates. Lion started to morph into iOS. iOS got new important features. And more importantly, iCloud tied together both the Mac and the iOS devices over the Internet, a fundamental shift in Apple’s thinking.
Apple Posts Record-Breaking Quarterly Profits, Announces WWDC Dates is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com
