US computer giant Apple was today celebrating its best quarterly results performance, after sales of iPod music players increased six-fold.
The California-based group posted profits of $320m in the three months to June 25, compared with $61m the same time a year ago. Sales surged to $3.52 billion from $2.01 billion in the third quarter of 2004.
Apple said it shipped 6.15 million iPods during the quarter, representing a rise of 616% on a year ago and reflecting the continued popularity of the product, which can store thousands of songs and has been praised for kick-starting the market for digital music distribution.
The company also shipped 1.18 million Macintosh computers, up 35% on a year earlier, while it described the launch of its Mac OS X Tiger operating system as a 'tremendous success'.
'We are delighted to report Apple's best quarter ever in both revenue and earnings,' the company CEO Steve Jobs said. He added that the company had 'more amazing new products in the pipeline'.
Apple has now sold over 20 million iPods, with the popularity of the music player leading customers to other products in the group's range.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Apple said it expected to achieve revenues of about $3.5 billion, slightly below analysts' expectations on Wall Street.
