Apple reported its best second quarter ever last night with net profit growing 15% to $1.2 billion, largely on strong sales of the iPhone.
The iconic California company reported revenue of $8.16 billion in the three months which ended on March 28, up from $7.51 billion the same time a year ago. That exceeded Apple's own forecasts of $7.9-8 billion and was better than the $7.96 billion expected by Wall Street analysts.
Earnings per share of $1.84 were well above the $1.09 expected by analysts.
Apple said it sold 2.22 million Macintosh computers during the quarter, down 3% from a year ago. It sold 11.01 million iPods, up 3% from a year ago. Sales of iPhones, meanwhile, soared 123% during the quarter to 3.79 million.
'We are extremely pleased to report the best non-holiday quarter revenue and earnings in our history,' Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said.
'Apple's financial condition remains very robust, with almost $29 billion in cash and marketable securities on our balance sheet,' he said.
Apple released a typically cautious forecast for the current quarter. 'Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about $7.7-7.9 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about 95 cents to $1,' Oppenheimer said.
He also said that chief executive Steve Jobs, who went on a leave of absence in January for health reasons, was expected to return as scheduled at the end of June.
Apple announced in January that Jobs, 54, the visionary behind the culture-changing Macintosh, iPod and iPhone, would be taking a leave of absence.
Apple has been notoriously secretive about Jobs's health since he underwent an operation in 2004 for pancreatic cancer.
