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Friday, October 26, 2012
Apple Reports Record Fourth Quarter Revenue and Profit
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Apple's shares dipped despite the the company's 27 percent rise in
fourth-quarter revenue and a 24 percent increase in earnings, as
investors were expecting more.
Shares bounced back after CEO Tim Cook told analysts on a
conference call that the latest iPhone 5 was heavily backlogged but
the company had mostly worked out kinks in its supply chain.
Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2012 fourth
quarter ended September 29, 2012. The company posted quarterly
revenue of $36.0 billion and quarterly net profit of $8.2 billion,
or $8.67 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of
$28.3 billion and net profit of $6.6 billion, or $7.05 per diluted
share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 40.0 percent
compared to 40.3 percent in the year-ago quarter. International
sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter's revenue.
Apple sold 26.9 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 58
percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple had struggled
to deliver large quantities of the iPhone 5 since its launch in
late September, with the waitlist for the device at one point
stretching to three weeks in some regions.
"Our supply output is significantly higher than it was earlier in
October," Cook said, referring to the iPhone 5. "And I'm confident
we'll be able to supply quite a few during the quarter."
Apple also sold 14.0 million iPads during the quarter, a 26
percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. iPad sales were
well below lowered forecasts for the tablet as the economy remained
weak and consumers awaited the iPad mini, which will hit store
shelves next month. Rival Samsung sold 56.3 million smartphones in
the quarter, according to research firm IDC, giving it 31.3 percent
global market share, more than double that of Apple.
Mac sales reached the
4.9 million, a 1 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter.
Sales of iPods were lower by 19% from the year-ago quarter.
Apple's Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $2.65
per share of the company's common stock.
"We're very proud to end a fantastic fiscal year with record
September quarter results," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We're
entering this holiday season with the best iPhone, iPad, Mac and
iPod products ever, and we remain very confident in our new product
pipeline."
"We're pleased to have generated over $41 billion in net income and
over $50 billion in operating cash flow in fiscal 2012," said Peter
Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the first fiscal
quarter of 2013, we expect revenue of about $52 billion and diluted
earnings per share of about $11.75."
Apple's strengths will be tested during the year-end holiday
shopping season, with gadgets from Amazon.com, Google and Microsoft
to threaten Apple's position in the tablet market. Of course, Apple
expects increased sales for its refreshed product lines - the
fourth-generation full-sized iPad and the iPad mini. |
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