SAN FRANCISCO // Surging iPhone sales worldwide have given Apple a record-high profit leading into the mystery event today at which it will unveil its newest miracle gadget. A doubling of iPhone sales helped Apple on Monday post record-high quarterly net profit of US$3.38 billion (Dh12.41bn) for the quarter that ended on December 26.
"We're thrilled to report our best quarter ever," Peter Oppenheimer, the chief financial officer of Apple, told analysts. Apple said revenue in the first quarter rose to $15.68bn from $11.88bn in the corresponding quarter in 2008. "If you annualise our quarterly revenue, it's surprising that Apple is now a $50bn-plus company," said Steve Jobs, the chief executive. "The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we're really excited about."
Apple has maintained secrecy over today's event, at which it is expected to unveil a tablet computer that some analysts have described as an "iPhone on steroids". Apple executives refused to comment on the event when releasing the first-quarter results, telling analysts to "stay tuned". "I wouldn't want to take away your joy of surprise when you see our latest creation," said Tim Cook, the chief operating officer of Apple, when pressed for comment.
The technology rumour mill is busy with speculation that the culture-changing firm has made a notepad-shaped tablet computer with a colour touchscreen that allows users to browse the Web, listen to music, watch films or television shows and read electronic books and newspapers. A tablet would be Apple's first major product release since it came out with its winning iPhone three years ago. Apple credited iPhone sales with its leap in profit for the December quarter to $3.67 a share, beating the company's previous record by almost $850 million.
Apple said it sold 3.36 million Macintosh computers in the quarter, 33 per cent more than a year ago, and 8.7 million iPhones, up 100 per cent from a year ago. But sales of iPods slid 8 per cent to 21 million units compared with the same quarter in 2008. Apple executives noted that while sales of traditional iPod models declined, those of top-end iPod Touch models rose 55 per cent, resulting in a slight increase in revenue for that product.
Apple said its share of the MP3 music player market remained at more than 70 per cent and iPods were gaining ground internationally. Apple's online iTunes store also posted a record-breaking quarter. Apple has expanded iPhone sales to 86 countries, including China. "We have really just started to get going in China," Mr Cook said. "I like what I see so far." He said Apple had activated more than 200,000 iPhones in China since it began selling them there at the end of October.
"We would prefer to move slow because we are focused on building the brand for the long term," Mr Cook said. "We are very happy working with China Unicom. They are an excellent partner for us." Apple said 58 per cent of its revenue in the quarter came from outside the US. It reported that revenues in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland China tripled, while sales also surged in western Europe. "It is clear our growth rates are much higher outside the US," Mr Cook said. "We realise we must do well in these markets to continue to grow."
Apple is pushing to move more iPhones into businesses. Mr Oppenheimer said Apple expected revenue in the current quarter to range between $11bn and $11.4bn, and for diluted earnings to tally between $2.06 and $2.18 a share. Apple's stock price rose nearly 2 per cent to $205 a share in trading after the release of the results, which also showed strong Mac sales. * Agence France-Presse