Apple more than doubles profits

TOY MAKER FOR THE WELL HEELED Apple has reported record profits, having flogged 37 million Iphones during the fourth quarter of last year.

The firm reported financial results for the 14 weeks ended December 31, 2011 on Tuesday.

The company posted record quarterly revenue of $46bn, nearly double the $26bn revenue in the year ago quarter. It reported record quarterly net profit of $13bn, more than double its $6bn profit in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Gross margin was 44.7 per cent compared to 38.5 per cent in the same quarter last year. International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter's revenue.

Apple sold 37.04 million Iphones globally during the quarter, representing 128 per cent unit growth over the year ago quarter.

The fruit themed firm sold 15.43 million Ipads during the quarter, a 111 per cent unit increase on the year ago quarter. The company sold 5.2 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 per cent unit increase on the same quarter in 2010.

However, Ipod sales are in decline, and Apple sold 15.4 million Ipods during Q4 2011, a 21 per cent unit decline from the same quarter last year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said, "We're thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of Iphones, Ipads and Macs. Apple's momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline."

"We are very happy to have generated over $17.5 billion in cash flow from operations during the December quarter," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2012, which will span 13 weeks, we expect revenue of about $32.5 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $8.50." µ