Apple profit 'biggest in history'
January 28, 2015
The company's quarterly results smashed Wall Street expectations, with a 70 percent rise in China sales also being credited as a factor behind the huge surge, which saw revenue rise by 30 percent from $57.6 billion to $74.6 since last year.
By the end of its fiscal first quarter, which ended on December 27 last year, the company had sold 74.5 million iPhones, with the iPhone's gross profit margin increasing by 2 percent to 39.9 percent.
According to Standard &Poor's analyst Howard Silverblatt, Apple's cash pile is now $178 billion - enough to buy IBM or the equivalent to $556 for every American.
Apple's net profit of $18 billion also topped the previous record of $15.9 billion made by ExxonMobil in the fiscal second quarter of 2012.
CEO Tim Cook said that the California-based company would release its next product, the Apple Watch, in April.
Meanwhile, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer and Apple supplier, Foxconn Technology Group, wanted to reduce its workforce due to declining growth and rising wages in China.
ksb/bw (AFP, Reuters)