iPhone sales help Apple double profit
Apple’s quarterly profit almost doubled, blowing past Wall Street estimates after a jump in iPhone sales soothed fears that the device was past its best days for sharp growth.
Shares in the world's most valuable technology company shot 7 per cent higher after the bell, recouping some losses from the past two weeks that had stemmed from concerns that iPhone sales growth rates could not be maintained.
Lower-than-expected commodity costs also helped lift margins way above estimates.
"That shows they are able to maintain their pricing without compromising on growth," said Morningstar analyst Michael Holt.
Mr Holt added that this had come even though lower priced competition from Google's Android phones - made by the likes of Motorola Mobility and Samsung Electronics were becoming more compelling.
"The concern was that Apple might sell more older models to be more competitive. That would have shown up in the gross margin. But aggregate gross margin and average revenue per device show that this hasn't happened," he said.
Apple sold 35.1 million iPhones - which account for about half its revenue - in the quarter, outpacing the 30 million or so expected by Wall Street analysts, with pent-up demand for the 4S bolstering revenue for China, Taiwan and Hong Kong five-fold to $7.9 billion.
"International iPhone sales were on fire," Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer told Reuters in an interview.
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