26th Jan 12
Apple delivers record profits
by Harry Oldfield
The colour of money: Apple sells 37 million iPhones last year
The colour of money: Apple sells 37 million iPhones last year
Technology giant Apple reported record quarterly results and smashed market forecasts by selling 37 million iPhones globally in the final three months of last year – a performance which investors dubbed “just unimaginable”.
Year-on-year first-quarter profits more than doubled to $13.1bn (£8.4bn), resulting in the firm’s share price going up by as much as 12 per cent to more than $460 a share. At this price, Apple’s market cap would be roughly $429bn, which would see it surpass oil giant Exxon once again to become the most valuable company in the world. Exxon’s market cap at close of business on Tuesday was $418bn against Apple’s $392bn.
Sales of Apple’s massively popular iPhone were way higher than forecasts of 30 million for the three months leading up to the end of last year. Similarly, iPad tablet computer sales beat analysts’ estimates by over two million units with overall sales being recorded at 15.4 million for the opening quarter, a year-on-year increase of 111 per cent.
First Empire Asset Management’s chief investment officer Michael Obuchowski said that those figures are “just unimaginable”. He said that it remains an extremely well-managed organisation and they are now highlighting that the product pipeline has the quality to generate growth rates which are unrivalled.
Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook said that he was delighted with the company’s performance. He explained that Apple’s momentum is extremely strong and said they have some incredible new products currently in the pipeline. Mr Cook took over the chief executive role from Steve Jobs in August, just a couple of months before the company’s co-founder died in October after suffering from pancreatic cancer for a number of years.
The record iPhone sales were boosted by the 4S model, which went on sale just a week after the death of Mr Jobs. In addition, sales of the iPhone benefited from strong demand during the festive period. Brian Marshall, an analyst at the San Francisco-based ISI Group said that all the other companies are losing market share if competing against Apple, adding that Apple is well out on its own.
Apple controls over 60 per cent of the tablet computer market, with rivals such as Hewlett-Packard and Samsung finding it increasingly difficult to create devices which are able to match the iPad. Adding to the good news, Mr Cook revealed that 85 million people had already signed up for the recently-launched Apple iCloud service which enables users to transfer data including music easily between their Apple devices.
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