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January 22, 2009

iPhone 3G helps Apple to record Q1 results

Gadget goliath smashes $10bn revenue barrier

By Steve Evans

Apple has announced record revenue and profit for its fiscal 2009 first quarter ended December 27, 2008. The consumer electronics giant posted revenue of $10.17bn with net quarterly profit of $1.61bn.

Despite the flagging economy results were significantly up on the same quarter a year previously, when Apple posted revenue of $9.6bn and net quarterly profit of $1.58bn.

Revenue and profit were boosted by the release of the iPhone 3G, Apple’s second-generation smartphone. The company sold just under 4.4 million units, which showed a mammoth 88% year-on-year growth.

Sales of the iPod touched in at 22.7 million, which while no doubt an impressive figure, represented a slightly disappointing year-on-year increase of 3%.

The October launch the new MacBook line of laptops propelled Apple’s CPU sales to a 9% year-on-year growth, with sales of just over 2.5 million. However, the majority of CPU sales were made up of portables, which saw year-on-year increase of 34%, while desktop sales saw a slump of 25% year-on-year.

Although these figures may seem disappointing, it is worth noting that PC sales across most world markets stalled during 2008 Q1, and even saw a 10% drop in the US.

While the results have exceeded analyst expectations, Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, warned that the company was unlikely to repeat the results next quarter. “Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about $7.6bn to $8bn and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $.90 to $1.00.”

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The news represents a boost for Apple, who recently announced that founder and CEO Steve Jobs would be taking an extended leave of absence after admitting that his hormone imbalance was more serious than first thought.

More bad news followed for Apple as reports emerged that the company may face government review over disclosures about the health of Steve Jobs and whether it misled shareholders. Jobs is considered such an integral part of the Apple brand that shares fell when news of his medical leave was announced.

If any investigation does take place, it is likely to focus on whether the company did not disclose the full details of Jobs’s illness in an attempt to protect its share price. The reported added that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s review does not mean investigators have seen evidence of wrongdoing.

Despite this, Steve Jobs commented on the results. “Even in these economically challenging times, we are incredibly pleased to report our best quarterly revenue and earnings in Apple history – surpassing $10bn in quarterly revenue for the first time ever,” he said.

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