Apple hits milestone: 1 billion iPhones sold

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple announced Wednesday the sale of its billionth iPhone, a milestone for the company as it seeks to keep momentum in a competitive smartphone market.

Chief executive Tim Cook made the announcement at a staff meeting at the company's California headquarters.

"IPhone has become one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history," he said in a statement.

"It's become more than a constant companion. IPhone is truly an essential part of our daily life and enables much of what we do throughout the day. Last week we passed another major milestone when we sold the billionth iPhone. We never set out to make the most, but we've always set out to make the best products that make a difference."

The news comes a day after Apple reported a drop in iPhone sales over the past quarter, a second straight drop after uninterrupted growth since its introduction in 2007.

Apple sold 40.4 million iPhones in the quarter ending June 25, down 15 percent from a year earlier, highlighting concerns over growth for the iconic smartphone.

The quarterly results underscored the challenges for Apple, which has built a huge business around the iPhone but is unlikely to see continued growth, due to a saturated smartphone market and increased competition.

Apple has been seeking to diversify its product line and move into services for a more stable revenue base, while keeping users in its ecosystem with offerings such as music, connected cars and its Apple Watch.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

iPhone sales fuel Apple profit boost

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Apple said Tuesday that surging iPhone sales helped propel a sharp rise in quarterly profits, as the tech giant delivered a record 48 million of the smartphones.

Profits rose 31 percent to $11.1 billion, while revenues jumped 22 percent from a year ago to $51.5 billion, Apple said.

The California tech giant, which in September unveiled revamped versions of the iPhone, said the number of units sold jumped 22 percent from last year while revenues lifted 36 percent.

Apple, the world's biggest company by market value, gave back early after-hours gains and dipped 0.2 percent to $114.30 on the results.

Chief executive Tim Cook said Apple closed the books on its fiscal year, calling it "Apple's most successful year ever," following strong iPhone sales and a range of new or upgraded devices.

"We are heading into the holidays with our strongest product lineup yet, including iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, Apple Watch with an expanded lineup of cases and bands, the new iPad Pro and the all-new Apple TV, which begins shipping this week," Cook said in a statement.

For the full fiscal year ending in September, Apple booked a whopping $53.4 billion profit, up 35 percent, while revenues rose 28 percent to $233.7 billion.

China, emerging markets

Some $12.5 billion in revenue came from China -- down five percent from the past quarter but double the level of a year ago.

Cook said the fiscal year showed "our largest absolute revenue growth ever" and was helped by "huge inroads into emerging markets generating over $79 billion of revenue and growing 63 percent despite very strong headwinds from foreign exchange."

The iPhone was the key driver for Apple, bringing in more than 60 percent of its revenues for the past quarter. But iPad unit sales fell 20 percent in the quarter to 9.9 million units.

For its traditional computers, Apple sold an all-time record 5.7 million Macs in the quarter.

No specific sales figures were given for the Apple Watch, but the results showed revenue from "other" products was $3 billion over the same period.

Cook said of the Apple Watch that "we're in the very early innings of this promising new part of our business."

Apple Watch "has already had a tremendous effect on customer health and fitness and the stories we're hearing about its impact are truly inspirational," he added.

Apple is making efforts to diversify with services such as its streaming music service and Apple Pay, and its new streaming television devices.

"The reach of our ecosystem continues to grow, and iOS is changing more and more aspects of our customers lives in very meaningful ways from their health to their homes to their cars," Cook said on the earnings call.

He added that Apple Pay is expected to expand to Hong Kong, Singapore and Spain in 2016.

Cook visited China last week and said Apple will continue to invest in the country despite slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.

The launch of the company's large-screen iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last year boosted its sales in China, though it faces sharp competition from domestic competitors such as Xiaomi and Huawei.

On his Chinese Sina Weibo -- or microblog -- account, Cook posted a photo of himself climbing the Great Wall and said he was "Happy to be back" in China.

The US company was due to open its 21st mainland China store in the northeastern city of Dalian.

Apple aims to have 40 stores in China by next year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

iPhone 6 helps Apple post largest profit in corporate history

Apple Inc quarterly results smashed Wall Street expectations with record sales of big-screen iPhones in the holiday shopping season and a 70 percent rise in China sales, powering the company to the largest profit in corporate history.

The company sold 74.5 million iPhones in its fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 27, while many analysts had expected fewer than 70 million. Revenue rose to $74.6 billion from $57.6 billion a year earlier.

Profit of $18 billion was the biggest ever reported by a public company, worldwide, according to S&P analyst Howard Silverblatt. Apple's cash pile is now $178 billion, enough to buy IBM or the equivalent to $556 for every American.

Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said the Cupertino, California-based company would release its next product, the Apple Watch, in April.

Shares rose about 5 percent to $114.90 in after-hours trade.

Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Apple-shareholder Synovus Trust Company in Atlanta, Georgia, said that the report was a good sign in a quarter where big tech companies such as IBM and Microsoft Corp have disappointed.

Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told Reuters in an interview that the company did not sell more iPhones in China than the United States, despite some earlier predictions by research analysts.

But the big-screen iPhone 6 and 6 plus drove revenues in China were up 70 percent in the quarter from a year earlier. The company's success in the competitive Chinese market can be attributed to its partnership with China Mobile Ltd, the largest global mobile carrier, and the appeal of the larger screen size of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Maestri said he does not expect Apple to struggle because of China's slipping economic growth. "We haven't seen a slowdown," he added.

Maestri also said the company doubled iPhone sales in Singapore and Brazil.

Apple will reach 40 company stores in greater China by mid-2016, Maestri told analysts on a conference call.

Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, also lauded a 14 percent rise in unit sales of Apple Macintosh computers and sales of older iPhone models.

Apple was well positioned for the current quarter in China, she added, which will include the Chinese New Year holiday and reflect Apple's attempts to sell through new channels.

Apple reported net profit of $18.02 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share, compared with $13.07 billion, or $2.07 per share, a year earlier. That topped expectations of $2.60 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Analysts had expected revenue of $67.69 billion.

Maestri said that Apple faced "a clear headwind" from the strong dollar but that it had included the challenge in its forecasts. Apple predicted revenue of $52 billion to $55 billion in its fiscal second quarter, compared with Wall Street's average target of $53.79 billion.

Cook said that the company's new mobile payment service, Apple Pay, which lets customer buy products from select merchants with their phones, was in its "first inning" and the company would consider adding new features as it looked at expanding outside the United States.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com