Apple reported a 5.8 per cent annual jump in its fiscal year second-quarter net profit as the company earned record revenue in the March quarter.
The Cupertino-based company’s net profit in the period that ended on March 26 jumped to more than $25 billion. This is about $10bn or 28.5 per cent less than the holiday quarter that ended on December 26.
Revenue rose 8.6 per cent year-on-year to $97.3bn during the quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $93.8bn. It was nearly 21.5 per cent down on a quarterly basis.
This quarter’s record results are a testament to the company’s “relentless focus on innovation and our ability to create the best products and services in the world”, Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook said.
But Mr Cook said that the company was “not immune” to global supply chain challenges.
The company's chief financial officer, Luca Maestri, said the supply chain frictions would dent Apple's sales in the current quarter by $4bn and to $8bn. It will be “substantially larger” than its impact in the last quarter.
Stock prices dropped more than 3.6 per cent to $157.65 a share in after-hours trading.
Apple's sales across all product categories, except iPads, reported annual growth.
iPhone sales account for about 52 per cent of the company's total revenue. Smartphone sales surged almost 5.5 per cent to $50.5bn in the quarter from the prior year period, surpassing analyst estimates of $47.8bn.
The company’s total revenue from the services segment grew about 17.3 per cent annually to $19.8bn. This segment contributed nearly 20.4 per cent to the overall sales of the company. It was also an all-time quarterly revenue record for services in the history of the company.
Revenue from wearables, home and accessories products increased almost 12.4 per cent yearly to more than $8.8bn. Sales of Mac computers jumped more than 14.5 per cent to more than $10.4bn in the last quarter.
iPads tablets were the only segment that experienced a dip in the quarterly sales, contributing $7.6bn to the sales, more than 2 per cent down on a yearly basis.
To attract more customers, last month, Apple launched a series of new products including its cheapest iPhone, an improved tablet, the company’s most powerful chip for personal computers and a new Mac Studio for professional users.
“We are delighted to see the strong customer response to our new products, as well as the progress we are making to become carbon neutral across our supply chain and our products by 2030,” Mr Cook said.
Mr Cook, who has led one of the world’s most valued technology companies since 2011, earned more than $98.7 million in salary last year, more than six times his 2020 salary of $14.7m, a statement the Cupertino-based company filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission said.
Apple’s sales in the Americas accounted for about 42 per cent of the company's total second-quarter revenue and it earned $40.8bn in the region.
It was followed by Europe and the Greater China market (China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), which added $23.3bn and $18.3bn, respectively, to the company’s revenue.
Japan and rest of the Asia Pacific market added $14.8bn to Apple’s second-quarter sales, an annual drop of 3.4 per cent.
“We are very pleased with our record business results for the March quarter … continued strong customer demand for our products helped us achieve an all-time high for our installed base of active devices,” Mr Maestri said.
During the March quarter, Apple returned nearly $27bn to its shareholders, generating $28bn in operating cash flow.
Apple also announced a cash dividend of $0.23 per share of the company’s common stock, an increase of 5 per cent. The dividend is payable on May 12 to shareholders on record at the close of business on May 9, the company said.
The company’s board also approved an increase of $90bn to the existing share repurchase programme, the company said.
In the January-March period, Apple spent nearly $6.4bn on research and development, more than 6.5 per cent of its total revenue. It was up by about 21.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2021.
Apple did not issue official guidance about future revenue and profits. The company stopped offering guidance at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic due to uncertainty in business.
The company’s cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities stood at more than $51.5bn as of March 26.
