Apple posts 'record' quarter as pricey iPhone X 'surpasses expectations'

Carly Page
@CarlyPage_
02 February 2018

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APPLE HAS ANNOUNCED its most-profitable quarter ever, despite a slump in iPhone and Mac sales.

The firm announced on Thursday that revenues for the fiscal first quarter of 2018 came in at $88.3bn and profits at $20.1bn, up 13 per cent and 16 per cent year-on-year, respectively, and marking an "all-time record" for the firm.

These record-breaking figures come despite a slump in iPhone sales, with Apple flogging 'just' 77 million mobes during the three months ending December, a one per cent decline year-on-year. However, Apple's average selling price for iPhones jumped by $100 to $796, which the firm is crediting to the success of the iPhone X.

"iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November," Apple CEO Tim Cook said, seemingly debunking talk than sales of the smartphone had been "lacklustre" over the holiday period.

Mac sales did struggle, though, with 5.1 million sales marking a five per cent decline, but the iPad saw its third consecutive quarter of growth with 13.1 million units moved in the three months ending December.

Apple's 'Services' division, which includes iTunes, the App Store and Apple Pay, in $8.5bn during the quarter, an 18 per cent rise year on year, while the firm's 'other products', such as Apple Watch and Apple TV, saw revenues increase by 36 per cent to $5.5bn in Q1.

"We're thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple's history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone lineup," Cook added, noting that 1.3 billion Apple devices are now in use, up from 1 billion two years ago.

"That number speaks to the strength of the product; the loyalty of the customer, the strength of the ecosystem; it also obviously fuels the services business," he said.

Apple forecast revenue of between $60bn and $62bn for the second quarter, an outlook less rosy than analysts had expected.

aThis comes amid rumours that the firm plans to "halve" iPhone X production for the first quarter to 20 million units, suggesting that the success of the £1,000 smartphone could be short-lived. µ