Apple has announced that it made $46.33 billion in revenue for its fiscal first quarter, which ended on 31 December. That’s a 77% increase on the previous year. Net profit for the quarter was $13.06 billion, which equates to $13.87 per diluted share. That’s a 131% increase on Q1 2011. Gross margin increased from 38.5% to 44.7%, the highest it’s been for 15 years.
Sales figures for each of Apple’s three key product streams were equally impressive. Mac sales rose by 26% to 5.2 million units, iPad sales were up 111% to 15.43 million, and the iPhone sold a whopping 128% more than the previous year, clocking in at 37.4 million. The iPod continued its steady decline, selling 15.4 million, 21% fewer than last year.
‘We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs, said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. ‘Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.’
We are very happy to have generated over $17.5 billion in cash flow from operations during the December quarter, said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. ‘Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2012, which will span 13 weeks, we expect revenue of about $32.5 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $8.50.’
Apple’s $13bn net profit for the quarter, was $3bn higher than Google’s quarterly revenue.
During a conference call after the results were announced, Tim Cook provided figures for Apple TV sales. It sold 2.8 million units during 2011 and a record 1.4 million during Q1. Cook noted that the company’s cash pile was now $97.6bn, up from $81bn last quarter, and said the company was actively looking looking for investment opportunities and wouldn’t let it ‘burn a hole in our pockets.’
