Apple Inc reported its best second quarter ever on Wednesday with net profit growing 15 percent to US$1.2 billion, largely on strong sales of the iPhone.
The iconic California company reported revenue of US$8.16 billion in the three months that ended on March 28, up from US$7.51 billion in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
That exceeded Apple’s own forecasts of US$7.9 billion to US$8 billion and was better than the US$7.96 billion expected by Wall Street analysts.
Earnings per share of US$1.84 were well above the US$1.09 expected by analysts.
The Cupertino, California-based Apple said it sold 2.22 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, down 3 percent from a year ago. The company sold 11.01 million iPods, up 3 percent from a year ago. Sales of iPhones, meanwhile, soared 123 percent during the quarter to 3.79 million.
“We are extremely pleased to report the best non-holiday quarter revenue and earnings in our history,” Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said in a statement.
“Apple’s financial condition remains very robust, with almost 29 billion dollars in cash and marketable securities on our balance sheet,” the statement said.
Apple released a typically cautious forecast for this quarter.
“Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about 7.7 billion dollars to 7.9 billion dollars and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about [US$0.95 to US$1],” it said.
The statement also said chief executive Steve Jobs, who went on a leave of absence in January for health reasons, was expected to return at the end of June.
“We’re looking forward to Steve returning at the end of June,” Oppenheimer said in a conference call with analysts that followed the release of Apple’s results.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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