Apple’s has seen shares rise 5% as the computing giant posted better than expected profits for the third quarter, in part boosted by sales of lower priced and older model iPhones. The firm made $6.9bn (£4.5bn) profit for three months to June, following nks good sales of its iPhone smartphone. Apple said it sold 31.2 […]
Apple’s has seen shares rise 5% as the computing giant posted better than expected profits for the third quarter, in part boosted by sales of lower priced and older model iPhones.
The firm made $6.9bn (£4.5bn) profit for three months to June, following nks good sales of its iPhone smartphone.
Apple said it sold 31.2 million iPhones, a record for the June quarter, compared to 26 million last year.
However, profit fell 22% from the same period a year earlier as its profit margins shrank to 36.98% from 42.8%.
Average sale prices were lower at $581, compared with $608 a year ago, as the firm relied on cheaper iPhones to boost sales figures.
Apple’s revenue was also better than expected, with the company earning $35.3bn, although that was barely above the $35bn of a year ago.
The US technology firm sold 14.6 million iPads during the quarter, compared with 17 million in the same period last year.
It sold 3.8 million Macs, down from four million between April and June last year.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said: “We are especially proud of our record June quarter iPhone sales of over 31 million and the strong growth in revenue from iTunes, Software and Services.
“We are really excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks operating systems, and we are laser-focused and working hard on some amazing new products that we will introduce in the fall and across 2014.”
In 2012 Apple was the most valuable listed firm globally, with a share price that peaked above $700 (£455) last September.
However, its stock has since dropped and sat below $419 (£272) on Tuesday’s close, as concerns continue of Apple regaining its creative mojo.
The California-based company faces strong competition from Samsung, which is growing on the back of the popularity of its Galaxy S4 handset.
Samsung also makes many of its own components.
In April the South Korean manufacturer posted a 41% leap in earnings in the first quarter of this year – in the same week Apple reported its first annual slide in a decade.
Samsung made a net profit of 7.15tn Korean won (£4.2bn) for the period, up from 5.05tn won (£2.9bn) a year ago, attributed largely to a surge in sales of smartphones.
