By Katie Marsal and Kasper Jade
Published: 09:00 AM EST (06:00 AM PST)
Mac maker Apple Inc. saw retail sales of Mac units grow a solid 62 percent year-over-year for the month of April, which included a 94 percent spike in notebook sales thanks to solid MacBook and MacBook Pro momentum, as well as increased distribution.
According to NPD data cited by UBS Investment Research analyst Ben Reitzes on Wednesday, U.S. PC unit growth for the month of April grew 14 percent overall, include a 19 percent rise in retail sales and a 30 percent surge in notebook sales.
"Checks for Macs have been solid, backing our 25 percent unit growth estimate for [the company's fiscal third quarter] which should also see support from recently updated MacBooks," the analyst wrote in a one-page memo to clients.
Reitzes added that iPod sales were down 3 percent for the month of April, but noted the "difficult compare" to the year-ago period in which iPod unit sales were up 33 percent.
"While below the 19 percent (9.6 million units) we are modelling for [the] fiscal third quarter, [the NPD] data doesn’t include international sales which could help support growth," he wrote. "We also believe new products later in the year should drive future improvement."
