Apple posts US$6 billion net profit in quarter to end-March

Apple has recorded a record net profit amounting to US$5.99 billion for its second fiscal quarter ended March 26, 2011. The company also posted record second quarter revenue of US$24.67 billion, compared to US$13.5 billion a year ago.

Gross margin was 41.4 per cent compared to 41.7 per cent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 59 per cent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold 3.76 million Macs during the quarter, a 28 per cent unit increase over the year-ago quarter.

The company sold 18.65 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 113 per cent growth year-on-year. Apple sold 9.02 million iPods during the quarter, representing a 17 per cent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

The company also sold 4.69 million iPads during the quarter.

"With quarterly revenue growth of 83 per cent and profit growth of 95 per cent, we’re firing on all cylinders," said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. "We will continue to innovate on all fronts throughout the remainder of the year."

"Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about US$23 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about US$5.03," ," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.