Apple has reported a whopping 33% jump in quarterly profits on revenues of US$58.01 Billion, this is the most profitable quarter ever in the history of Apple.
The surging technology Company whose quarterly profit was
$13.57 Billion is not saying how much tax they will pay in Australia.
Currently the US Company is under investigation by the
Australian tax office because they are suspected of running a tax minimisation
scheme that sees products sold to a tax haven Company, when goods are being
shipped from China to Australia.
A big contributor to the increase in revenue is surging
iPhone sales and explosive growth in China, gross margin was a massive 40.8%.
In Australia Apple is charging consumers a considerably higher price that what
consumers in the USA. A new smartwatch that sells for $399 in the USA is $799
in Australia.
New larger-display iPhones are helping Apple defy the
pricing pressure plaguing other smartphone makers such as Samsung.
Net income totalled $13.57 billion in its fiscal second
quarter ended March 28, versus $10.22 billion in the year-ago period.
Revenue rose 27% to $58.01 billion from $45.65 billion in
the year-ago period.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated that Apple
would post earnings of $2.16 a share on revenue of $56.1 billion.
Apple also reported gross margin, a closely watched measure
of profitability reflecting the percentage of revenue that remains after manufacturing
costs, of 40.8%, above its estimated range of 38.5% to 39.5%.
Apple’s cash reserves are now US $193.5 billion up from $178
billion at the end of December.
Shares of Apple, are which are up 62% over the past year,
rose a further 1.5% to $134.66 in after-hours trading.
Apple said it sold 61.17 million iPhones in the three months
ended March, up 40% from the year-earlier period. That is ahead of a forecast
of 56.8 million units forecast by analysts.
The Wall Street Journal said, Apple is pulling off a feat
rarely seen in any industry, much less the cutthroat world of consumer
electronics: gaining market share while also raising prices. For its latest
iPhones, Apple raised the base price of its high-end handset, the iPhone 6 Plus,
by US$100 to US$749 without a two-year contract.
Research firm Gartner said Apple passed Samsung in the
fourth quarter to be the top-selling smartphone manufacturer by sales. Gartner
said Apple captured 20.4% of the global market versus Samsung’s 19.9%. By
comparison, in the fourth quarter of 2013, Samsung captured 30% of the market
versus 18% for Apple.
The iPhone has overshadowed the other parts of Apple’s
business. The iPad continues to slump in the face of larger-screen smartphones
while their Mac computer sales remains a bright spot, steadily gaining market
share against its PC competitors.
Apple’s latest hardware product, Apple Watch, started
shipping on Friday. So far, availability is limited for the new device with
Apple’s website estimating that new orders won’t be delivered until June.
Nonetheless, the Apple Watch isn’t expected to deliver a major earnings impact
for the company in the near future.
