Record iPhone sales, but Apple profit sliced

Apple yesterday reported record iPhone sales and steady iPad numbers, but a small slice out of their profits as margins slipped.

Apple yesterday announced quarterly revenue of $37.5 billion and quarterly net profit of $7.5 billion, or $8.26 per diluted share, for its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter ended 28 September 2013. These results compare to revenue of $36 billion and net profit of $8.2 billion, or $8.67 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 37 percent compared to 40 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

The Company sold 33.8 million iPhones, a record for the September quarter, compared to 26.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 14.1 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 14 million in the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 4.6 million Macs, compared to 4.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

Apple’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $3.05 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on November 14, 2013, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on November 11, 2013.

‚”We’re pleased to report a strong finish to an amazing year with record fourth quarter revenue, including sales of almost 34 million iPhones,‚” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited to go into the holidays with our new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, iOS 7, the new iPad mini with Retina Display and the incredibly thin and light iPad Air, new MacBook Pros, the radical new Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks and the next generation iWork and iLife apps for OS X and iOS.‚””

‚””We generated $9.9 billion in cash flow from operations and returned an additional $7.8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the September quarter, bringing cumulative payments under our capital return program to $36 billion,‚”” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.

Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2014 first quarter:

• revenue between $55 billion and $58 billion

• gross margin between 36.5 percent and 37.5 percent

• operating expenses between $4.4 billion and $4.5 billion

• other income/(expense) of $200 million

• tax rate of 26.25 percent

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