Date: Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Apple Profits Soar Thanks to Mac

The launch of the new iPhone and the continued popularity of the Mac have helped Apple’s profits to soar 67% in the three months prior to the end of September. The firm reported profits of $904million in this period, compared to $542 the year before. This massive leap in profits stunned analysts, who had estimated a more conservative rise.

Apple reported selling 1.12 million iPhones in this period and Tim Bajarin, an analyst with Creative Strategies, believes that this new product succeeded in raising awareness of their brand and other products from the Apple range. He said: “There’s no question that Mac sales are still having a halo effect from the iPod and iPhone.” Indeed, the company sold around 10.2 million iPods in this quarter, which was up 17% on last year. Sales of the Mac were even more successful with Apple shipping around 2.2 million computers, breaking all previous quarterly records.

Although the iPod is often perceived as their most popular product, the Mac continues to be a great success story for Apple. In fact, many analysts believe the Mac will soon steal the iPod’s crown and regain its place at the top. Shannon Cross, analyst with Cross research, said Apple was “becoming again a Mac story.” Tim Bajarin believes the growing popularity of the Mac can be attributed to its simple operating system. He said: “More and more people have become interested in the Mac because of Apple’s ease of use.”

Apple’s shares on Wall Street continue to grow due to the company’s continuing success. Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, believes the company can build on these strong results throughout the rest of the year. He said: “We’re looking forward to a strong December quarter as we enter the holiday season with Apple’s best products ever.”

Sources:

BBC News

Guardian