Apple said its profits in the first three months of the year topped $1 billion as sales of Macintosh computers climbed over 50%. However, the company did trim its earnings prediction for the current quarter.
The tech giant and maker of hot-selling iPod music players and iPhones said it earned $1.05 billion, or $1.16 a share, on revenues of $7.51 billion for the quarter. This compared to $770m, or 87 cents a share, the same time last year.
'We're delighted to report 43% revenue growth and the strongest March quarter revenue and earnings in Apple's history,' said Apple's CEO Steve Jobs. 'With over $17 billion in revenue for the first half of our fiscal year, we have strong momentum to launch some terrific new products in the coming quarters,' he added.
Apple shipped 2.29 million Mac computers during the quarter, 51% more than it shipped during the same time in 2007. The iconic California company sold 1.703 million iPhones during the quarter.
Apple's chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said Apple expects revenues of $7.2 billion and profits of $1 a share in the current quarter. The profit outlook was weaker than analyst forecasts for earnings of $1.10 a share.
Apple is known for setting earnings expectations at levels it can comfortably beat in order to avoid having its stock punished by a disappointed market.
Apple said it saw 'healthy growth' in regions around the world and strong Mac, iPod and iPhone sales were at the heart of the firm's revenues, according to Oppenheimer.
The 8% rise in iPod revenues was credited to demand for the iPod Touch model, which is essentially an iPhone without the mobile telephone capabilities. Sales of matchbook-size iPod Shuffles continued a 'sequential decrease' despite Apple cutting the price.
Apple commands more than 70% of the MP3 player market and affirmed its prediction it will sell at least 10 million iPhones in the product's first year on the market.
The saturation of the iPod market and a trend toward people using mobile telephones for music and video validate Apple's launch of the iPhone, analysts said. IPhones have been snapped up in the US.
It remains to be seen whether the innovative mobile devices will be as popular in Europe, where they recently began rolling out. Apple plans to expand sales of iPhones to more parts of Europe and enter the Asia market later this year, Oppenheimer said.
The firm also plans to open more of specialty Apple Stores internationally, with shops opening in Australia, China and Switzerland in coming months.
