Apple posts 39% lift in quarterly net profit but sales of iPhone slip

While Apple claimed record sales of its Mac and iPad computers, the technology giant missed analyst expectations.

The company has been hit by a fall in sales of its flagship iPhone product. In the quarter, the company sold 17.1 million iPhones, a lift of 21% on the previous year. But it sold around 20 million less iPhones than it did in the previous quarter.

Apple recorded an increase of net sales of $6.62bn to £28.27bn for the three months to 24 September, up from $20.34bn for the same period in 2010. Net profit for the quarter was $6.62bn.

Apple's full year net income hit $25.92 for the year to 24 September, compared with $14.01 last year.

Apple's quarterly earnings are the first under new chief executive Tim Cook, with sales of its iPads reaching 11.12 million.

Peter Oppenheimer, chief financial officer at Apple, claims the tech giant recorded a "record September" quarter revenue and expects the next quarter to see revenues of around $37bn.

Tim Cook, chief executive, said: "Customer response to iPhone 4S has been fantastic, we have strong momentum going into the holiday season, and we remain really enthusiastic about our product pipeline."

The iPhone 4S, launched at the beginning of October, left consumers and analysts disappointed when the company failed to unveil the highly anticipated iPhone 5.

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This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk