Apple profits soar but iPad sales disappoint; rumours of new iPhone in September

Apple’s profit soared a staggering 95% in the March quarter to $US6 billion, with the company doubling iPhone sales to 18.7 million units.

However, analysts were disappointed with the sales of iPads. Apple sold 4.69 million iPads during the quarter, with production issues meaning the company missed analysts’ forecasts of six million iPad sales.

“We sold every iPad 2 we could make and the demand was stunning,” Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer told Reuters in an interview.

Revenue at Apple surged 83% during the quarter to $US24.67 million, with 41% of sales made in North America.

A spike in sales of Mac computers helped boost revenue. The refreshed MacBook Pro helped Apple sell 3.76 million Macs, up 28% from a year ago.

Apple shares jumped 4% on the result to $355.97.

The impressive result was the first delivered by chief operating officer Tim Cook, who took over from Steve Jobs as the head of Apple when Jobs went on medical leave in January.

But Coo said Jobs – who is believed to be suffering from an illness related to previous health issues, including a liver transplant and a rare form of pancreatic cancer – was still involved in Apple’s decision-making processes.

“He is still on medical leave but we do see him on a regular basis. He continues to be involved in major strategic decisions. I know he wants to be back full-time as soon as he can,” Cook told analysts on a conference call.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports out of Hong Kong have suggested that Apple’s new iPhone 5 will start shipping in September, with production to start as early as July.

Citing “three people with direct knowledge” of Apple’s supply chain, the report suggests the new version of the iPhone will be similar in design to the iPhone 4 model released in the middle of 2010, although it would include a faster process.

Officials at iPhone component makers Largan, Wintek and Foxconn declined to comment on the report.