Apple has surprised Wall Street by announcing record breaking sales and profits, as the Californian technology company continues to defy the recession.
Thanks to the highest ever sales of its iPhone handsets and Mac computers, Apple posted profits of $1,67-billion for the last three months, based on sales of almost $10-billion. That marks a 46% increase in profit over the same period last year, when the company made $1,14-billion on revenues of $7,9-billion.
Its chief executive, Steve Jobs, who returned to the company earlier this summer after a six month break to undergo a liver transplant, said he was “thrilled” with the results and had more plans to excite customers in the near future.
“We’ve got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some great new products in the pipeline for 2010,” he said.
Those products are rumoured to include a new touchscreen computer that the company hopes can capitalise on the iPhone’s success. A string of reports suggests that the company may be preparing to launch a so-called “tablet” machine in the new year.
In recent months, Apple has consistently defied predictions that the recession would stifle consumers’ appetite for its high-cost products. It exceeded expectations by selling 7,4-million iPhones and 3,05-million computers worldwide during the past three months — sales that mean 46% of Apple’s business is now outside the US.
“Apple PCs and Apple phones are more expensive,” said Jane Snorek, an analyst with First American Funds. “Clearly, right now the consumer doesn’t care: for some reason, consumers will spend more money to get Apple.”
The only area of the company’s business that is not bucking the recessionary trend is its iPod line — which saw an 8% decline in year on year sales, down to 10,2-million in the three months ending on September 26. However, analysts said that was largely due to some consumers switching to the iPhone — which is more profitable for the company, thanks to monthly cellphone subscriptions.
Part of Apple’s astonishing growth has been thanks to the widening reach of the iPhone, which is now on sale in more than 40 countries — as well as Apple’s back-to-school push to encourage students to buy its desktop computers and laptops.
Staff at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, will also be buoyed by sales of its most recent computer operating system, Snow Leopard. In particular, the news of Macintosh sales will give them a boost since it comes just as Microsoft prepares to release a new version of its Windows software on Thursday.
The company’s numbers significantly beat Wall Street’s already-high expectations of how the Californian computer pioneer would perform, pushing its shares up more than 6% to $202 in after-hours trading — a historic high.
The company has been a long-term favourite for many investors, thanks to almost uninterrupted growth since the iPod first became a major mainstream hit around 2004. Despite this expansion, however, Apple continues to surprise by shrugging off almost all the negatives trends set in the wider economy — and even those set by its rivals the technology sector.
Last week Finnish mobile maker Nokia, the world’s dominant handset manufacturer, said it had lost £836-million in the last three months as sales slowed dramatically. Meanwhile PC manufacturers including Dell and Hewlett Packard are also struggling to maintain sales in line with last year’s figures.
“I think this is the best company on the planet from a technology perspective, and I don’t see their momentum slowing down any time soon,” said Brian Marshall, an analyst with Broadpoint Amtech. “By the looks of the numbers, they’re accelerating.” – guardian.co.uk