Apple announces record Mac and iPhone sales

Tech giant Apple has posted a quarterly net profit of $US1.67 billion, with the company announcing record sales of Macbook computers and iPhones.

The company also announced it has “really great new products in the pipeline for 2010”, which has led many analysts to believe a tablet computer device is set to be announced in the next few months.

The figures come as the rest of the handset manufacturing market is struggling, with Nokia announcing an $85 million loss after losing market share to the iPhone.

Apple recorded a 25% increase in revenue to $US9.2 billion, with profit rising from $US1.14 billion one year ago to $US1.67 billion during the last quarter. Profit per share was $US1.82, up from $US1.26 per share a year ago. The results were above market expectations of $US1.42, according to Thomson Reuters.

The company also announced record sales figures for its key products with 3.05 million Macs sold during the past three months, an increase of 17% from one year ago.

Additionally, Apple sold a record 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter, a massive 625% growth from the same period one year ago boosted by the introduction of the new iPhone 3GS model.

But figures for traditional iPod models continued to decline, dropping 8% to just 10.2 million sales.

Other key announcements include an increase in portable sales of 35%, with 50% of iPod buyers still purchasing their first iPod device. iPod Touch sales increased by 100% over the year, boosted by the growth of the App Store which now has 85,000 apps.

Revenue for the App Store came in at $US1.87 billion, an increase from $1.72 billion one year ago.

“We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter,” chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement. “We’ve got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.”

“We are delighted with our September quarter and fiscal 2009 results,” chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said. “Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2010, we expect revenue in the range of about $US11.3 billion to $US11.6 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $US1.70 to $US1.78.”

Analysts expect Apple to make an announcement regarding a tablet computer device in January which could provide a massive boost to its earnings, with the product to potentially hit shelves within the first half of 2010.