Apple posts best-ever results

Consumer electronics giant Apple has reported its most profitable quarter in its 34-year history, beating its previous quarterly record by more than $3 billion.  Strong sales of the companyÔÇÖs iconic iPhones and Mac computers helped to boost earnings by 50 percent from the same time last year. Cupertino, California-based Apple earned $3.4 billion in its first quarter (which ended December 26) compared with $2.3 billion for the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the same period reached $15.7 billionÔÇöan increase of 32 percent from a year earlierÔÇöwith 42 percent of sales coming from the US. The results underline AppleÔÇÖs position as the most profitable consumer technology company in the world. Apple sold 3.36 million Mac computers in the quarter, a 33 percent unit increase on the previous year; and 8.7 million iPhones, representing 100 per cent growth. The iPhone is now distributed in more than 85 countries, following a roll-out to countries including China and South Korea. The company said around 70 percent of the 100 biggest US companies were now experimenting with supporting iPhone use by employeesÔÇödouble the proportion from before last summerÔÇÖs introduction of a faster operating system for the device. Half of the largest companies worldwide now accept iPhones, the company said. Apple also sold 21 million iPods in the quarter. The results have also been lifted by AppleÔÇÖs move to a new accounting standard for iPhone and Apple TV sales, which changes the way in which sales are recorded. Analysts have interpreted the results to show that Apple is able to sell premium-priced products despite public caution over spending. ÔÇ£If you annualize our quarterly revenue, itÔÇÖs surprising that Apple is now a $50+ billion company,ÔÇØ said Steve Jobs, AppleÔÇÖs CEO. ÔÇ£The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that weÔÇÖre really excited about.ÔÇØ Jobs refers to the eagerly awaited launch in San Francisco on Wednesday of AppleÔÇÖs latest device. Said to be halfway between an iPod Touch and a MacBook computer, the new tablet computer is expected to sell about two million units in the first year. A number of publishing groups have ┬¡reportedly developed products for use with the device, and a series of deals to produce magazines and newspapers specifically for the machine could also be announced at the launch. However, some have warned that it may have a negative impact on sales of iPhones and Apple laptops.