Cupertino blues: Apple profits slump as iPhone demand resurges
Apple reported a profit drop of almost $2bn for its fiscal third quarter to June 29, 2013, today.
Cupertino’s revenues rose slightly to $35.3bn (+$0.3bn), and net profit of $8.8 billion ($ -1.9bn) for third quarter.
Revenues fell in every regional globally, except Americas.
Apple retail stores also took a 22% nosedive compared to previous quarter.
However, despite the fall, the results beat analyst expectations, reports Bloomberg.
“It was a good quarter.” “Buybacks were more than double what we expected,” said Jefferies LLC analyst Peter Misek.
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International sales accounted for 57 percent of total revenue, although in China, its second most important region, revenues slipped significantly – down 43% y-o-y.
Apple sold 31.2 million iPhones, which it claims is “a record” for the June quarter, although marks a drastic fall from the previous quarter, Q2, when it sold 37.4m phones.
It sold 26 million in the same quarter 2012.
iPad and Mac sales also took a tumble, its latest financials show.
Sales of iPad, its fastest selling product, slumped by 2.4 million units to 14.6m, compared to 17m in Q3 ’12.
Apple sold 3.8 million Macs, down 200,000 units.
Accessories were also down 15% compared to Q2 2013, which could be associated with fall in hardware sales.
In a statement, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO alluded to the “strong” growth of iTunes and software, as ecosystems are now vital part of the mobile battle, as Samsung and Google Android become an ever formidable force.
“We are especially proud of our record June quarter iPhone sales of over 31 million and the strong growth in revenue from iTunes, Software and Services,” he said.
However, a closer look at the figures show iTunes revenues (including App Store, iBookstore) actually slumped 3% compared to Q2 ’13, but rose 25% year-on-year to $3.9 bn.
And to ease massive pressure on Apple to develop The Next Big Thing, its boss insisted Cupertino are “laser-focused” and said the company are “working hard on some amazing new products that we will introduce in the fall and across 2014.”
“We are really excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks,” he added.
Apple generated $7.8 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter and returned $18.8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.
Apple is forecasting a possible rise in revenue for fourth quarter which it expects to hit $34 – $37 billion.
Gross margin fell almost 5% to 36.9 percent in its third quarter. For the fourth quarter, it predicts gross margin to remain between 36-37 percent.
Interestingly, it noted in its financial projections it would be paying a tax rate of 26.5%, following recent criticism of its tax avoidance schemes.
Operating expenses are set to be between $3.9bn – $3.95bn.
Apple’s Board has declared a cash dividend of $3.05 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 15, 2013.
Company shares rose 4% to $435.75 in after hours trading.
