By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 04:35 PM EST

Apple on Wednesday announced financial results for its fiscal 2006 third quarter ended July 1, 2006, posting revenue of $4.37 billion and a net quarterly profit of $472 million, or $.54 per diluted share.

These results compare to revenue of $3.52 billion and a net profit of $320 million, or $.37 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 30.3 percent, up from 29.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 39 percent of the quarter's revenue.

Apple shipped 1,327,000 Macintosh computers and 8,111,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 12 percent growth in Macs and 32 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter.

"We're thrilled with the growth of our Mac business, and especially that over 75 percent of the Macs sold during the quarter used Intel processors. This is the smoothest and most successful transition that any of us have ever experienced," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "In addition, iPod continued to earn a US market share of over 75 percent and we are extremely excited about future iPod products in our pipeline."

"We're very pleased to report the second highest quarterly sales and earnings in Apple's history, resulting in year-over-year revenue growth of 24 percent and earnings growth of 48 percent," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, we expect revenue of about $4.5 to $4.6 billion. We expect GAAP earnings per diluted share of about $.46 to $.48, including an estimated $.03 per share expense impact from non- cash stock-based compensation, translating to non-GAAP EPS of about $.49 to $.51."

As previously announced, an internal investigation discovered irregularities related to the issuance of certain stock option grants made between 1997 and 2001. A special committee of Apple's outside directors has hired independent counsel to perform an investigation and the Company has informed the SEC. At this time, based upon the irregularities identified to date, management does not anticipate any material adjustment to the financial results included in this earnings release. However, if additional irregularities are identified by the independent investigation, a material adjustment to the financial information could be required.

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q3 2006 financial results conference call utilizing QuickTime, Apple's standards-based technology for live and on-demand audio and video streaming. The live webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. PDT on Wednesday. AppleInsider will provide coverage.