By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 04:00 PM EST (01:00 PM PST)

Apple Computer on Wednesday announced preliminary financial results for its fiscal 2006 fourth quarter ended September 30, 2006, which included net quarterly profits of $546 million, or $.62 per diluted share, on revenues of $4.84 billion.

"These preliminary results may be subject to significant adjustment as a result of a likely restatement of historical results," Apple said in its release.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company shipped 1,610,000 Macintosh computers and 8,729,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 30 percent growth in Macs and 35 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter.

The results compare to revenue of $3.68 billion and net profit of $430 million, or $.50 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

Apple said international sales accounted for 40 percent of the quarter's revenue. Meanwhile, gross margin was 29.2 percent, up from 28.1 percent in the year-ago quarter.

"This strong quarter caps an extraordinary year for Apple. Selling more than 39 million iPods and 5.3 million Macs while performing an incredibly complex architecture transition is something we are all very proud of," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. "Looking forward, 2007 is likely to be one of the most exciting new product years in Apple's history."

"We are pleased to have finished the year with over $10 billion in cash and to have increased annual revenue by $11 billion in the last two years," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2007, we expect revenue of $6.0 to $6.2 billion and earnings per diluted share of $.70 to $.73."

Results subject to significant adjustment

As previously announced on October 4, 2006, an independent committee investigating Apple's stock option practices has reported its findings, which are under review by the company and its independent auditors.

The investigation determined, among other things, that stock option grants made on 15 dates between 1997 and 2002 appear to have grant dates that precede the approval of those grants for accounting purposes. As a result, management continues to believe, and the audit committee agrees, that Apple will likely need to restate its historical financial statements to record non-cash charges for compensation expense and related cash and non-cash tax adjustments relating to past stock option grants.

"The Company and its independent auditors are reviewing accounting guidance regarding stock option grants recently published by the SEC, and have not yet determined the amount of such charges, the resulting tax and accounting impact, or which periods may require restatement," Apple said.