Apple blasts through sales records

Apple yesterday announced record sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs, with only iPods declining in sales. And lurking beneath the results was a new trend: international sales now dominate.

These results compare to revenue of $26.74 billion and net quarterly profit of $6 billion, or $6.43 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 44.7 percent compared to 38.5 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 58 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

The Company sold 37.04 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 128 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.43 million iPads during the quarter, a 111 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 5.2 million Macs during the quarter, a 26 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 15.4 million iPods, a 21 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

‚We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs,‚ said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. ‚Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.‚

‚We are very happy to have generated over $17.5 billion in cash flow from operations during the December quarter,‚ said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. ‚Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2012, which will span 13 weeks, we expect revenue of about $32.5 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $8.50.‚

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