Apple reported a quarterly net profit of 1.67 billion dollars on October 19 on record sales of iPhones and Macintosh computers. Apple recorded 9.87 billion dollars in revenue during the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, which ended September 26, compared with 7.9 billion dollars in revenue in the same period last year.
Apple's quarterly profit amounted to 1.82 dollars per share, a jump from the same quarter last year when it reported profit of 1.14 billion dollars, or 1.26 dollars per share. "We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "We've got a very strong line-up for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010."
Rumors of Apple gadgets being readied for market include an "iTablet" computing device akin to a magazine-sized iPhone that could be used for reading digitised books as well as watching videos or surfing the Internet. Apple reported that it sold 3.05 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, a 17 percent increase from the same period last year.
The Cupertino, California-base company saw sales of its popular iPhone smartphones climb seven percent to 7.4 million while sales of iPods sagged eight percent to 10.2 million units.
"We are delighted with our September quarter and fiscal 2009 results," said Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer. Apple's revenue for the full fiscal year grew 12 percent and net profit rose by 18 percent despite "extraordinarily challenging times," according to Oppenheimer.
Apple projected its earnings in the current quarter to range from 1.70 dollars to 1.78 dollars per share based on expected earnings of from 11.3 billion dollars to 11.6 billion dollars.