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Apple profits edge higher on sales of 2.52M Macs, 22.7M iPods

 

Apple said Wednesday that first-quarter profits rose a little less than 2 percent to $1.61 billion, or $1.78 per diluted share, on record sales of $10.17 billion for the three-month period ended December 27, 2008.

The results compare to revenue of $9.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 34.7 percent, equal to the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 46 percent of the quarter's revenue.

"Even in these economically challenging times, we are incredibly pleased to report our best quarterly revenue and earnings in Apple history — surpassing $10 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time ever," said Apple chief executive Steve Jobs.

Apple sold 2,524,000 Macintosh computers during the quarter, representing nine percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. The company also sold a record 22,727,000 iPods during the quarter, representing three percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhone units sold were 4,363,000, representing 88 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter.

In accordance with the subscription accounting treatment required by GAAP, the Company recognizes revenue and cost of goods sold for iPhone and Apple TV over their economic lives. Adjusting GAAP sales and product costs to eliminate the impact of subscription accounting, the corresponding non-GAAP measures* for the quarter are $11.8 billion of "Adjusted Sales" and $2.3 billion of "Adjusted Net Income."

"Our outstanding results generated over $3.6 billion in cash during the quarter," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about $7.6 billion to $8 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $.90 to $1.00."

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q1 2009 financial results conference call utilizing QuickTime. The live webcast will begin at 2:00 p.m. PST today. AppleInsider will provide full coverage.

Additional coverage of Apple's Q109 release