Apple earnings beat expectations on strong iPhone sales
Apple reported third-quarter earnings of $8.47bn (£5.24bn), a 13% rise from the same period a year earlier, beating analysts’ expectations.
Profits at the technology giant were helped by sales of its new iPhone 6 models, which were on sale for ten days during the three-month period ending 30 September.
Total iPhone sales numbered 39.3m.
However sales of Apple’s iPad disappointed, with 12.3m sold, down from 13.1m a year earlier.
“Our fiscal 2014 was one for the record books, including the biggest iPhone launch ever with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus,” said Apple chief executive Tim Cook in a statement accompanying the earnings report. He added that he was optimistic for the crucial holiday quarter coming up.
Apple shares rose over 2% in after-hours trading after the earnings were released.
The earnings were announced on the same day that Apple introduced its digital payment system, Apple Pay, at a host of US retailers including supermarket chain Whole Foods and pharmacy Walgreens.
On a conference call to discuss earnings, Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri highlighted a surprising area of strength: Mac laptop sales.
He said that Mac sales hit a quarterly record, which was especially notable given the state of the overall global PC market, which had been declining.
Source: BBC- Apple earnings beat expectations on strong iPhone sales
