UPDATE: Apple 4Q Profit Jumps 47% On Higher Mac Sales; Shares Rise

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 
 

Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 47% as the company sold more Macintosh computers and iPhones than in any previous quarter, which helped drive revenue.

Shares were up 8.3% to $203.62 in after-hours trading, as the company's latest results easily beat analysts' expectations. The stock, which has more than doubled this year, is now trading above its all-time high of $202.96 in December 2007.

The maker of computers and electronic devices, which is notorious for giving conservative guidance, said it expects fiscal first-quarter earnings of $1.70 to $1.78 a share on revenue of $11.3 billion to $11.6 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $1.91 and $11.45 billion, respectively.

The lower earnings view might be some concern for analysts, which are focusing on Apple's outlook for the end-of-the-year holiday shopping season.

Apple has defied the recession with its slick laptops and smart phones. There have been some concerns over margins - which are expected to be pressured as the company continues to lower prices, although the company has been successful in locking in lower prices components like screens and memory chips.

For the quarter ended Sept. 26, Apple reported earnings of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 a share, up from $1.14 billion, or $1.26 a share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 25% to $9.87 billion, with 54% of sales in the U.S.

In July, Apple said it expected earnings of $1.18 to $1.23 on revenue of $8.7 billion to $8.9 billion. Wall Street's latest estimates were $1.42 a share on revenue of $9.2 billion.

In the latest quarter, gross margin improved to 36.6% from 34.7%.

Meanwhile, if the company wasn't required to defer revenue from iPhone handsets and Apple TV units shipped in current and prior periods, it would have reported earnings of $3.12, up from $2.69 a year earlier. Revenue would have increased 4.9% to $12.25 billion.

Apple sold 3.05 million Macintosh computers in the latest quarter, up 17% from a year earlier. The company sold 10.2 million iPod media players, down 8%.

Apple has cut prices across its iPod lineup as the company tries to revive slowing sales. And while the iPod is still the dominant digital music player, it has been eclipsed by the fast-selling iPhone, which reported sales of 7.4 million units, growing 7% from year-ago levels.

"We are shipping the best product in Apple's history, and customers are responding, we have a strong product mix, and there's a favorable component environment," Peter Oppenheimer, Apple chief financial officer, said when asked in an interview what's driving the company's upbeat guidance.

He added that the fourth quarter was the company's "most profitable ever." Meanwhile, sales of Macintoshes were "phenomenal" and outgrew the market for the 19th time in the last 20 quarters.

-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480; [e-mail]