San Francisco, July 17: Apple Computer on Wednesday said that quarterly net income fell about 40 per cent as higher costs from opening its retail stores offset revenue growth at the maker of Macintosh computers. At the same time, the results were above the consensus estimates for both earnings and revenues, and shares of Apple, which has about 3 per cent of the personal computer market worldwide, rose in after-hours trade.
Fred Anderson, Apple chief financial officer, said in an interview that strong sales of its iBook and PowerBook line of laptop computers led it to the highest revenue that Apple had posted in 11 quarters.
Looking to the fourth quarter, Anderson said that he saw "a high single-digit percentage increase" in revenue from the third quarter and a "slight sequential increase" in earnings per share.
"The fact that revenue is growing is a positive sign," said Gartner analyst Martin Reynolds, after declines for Apple and other high-tech companies for the last several years.
Analysts currently expect Apple to report fourth-quarter revenue of $1.55 billion and earnings per share of 6 cents, on average, within a range of 4 cents to 10 cents, according to Reuters Research, a unit of Reuters Group Plc.
Apple shipped 304,000 of its popular iPod digital music players, up from 54,000 units a year ago, Anderson said, adding sales at its Apple retail stores were $145 million.
The company's education sales were an additional bright point, Anderson said, noting that its shipments into that market were up 5 per cent in units from a year ago.
Apple also returned to an operating profit in the third quarter, compared with an operating loss in the prior period. In recent quarters, Apple has relied on interest from its cash hoard, now at $4.55 billion, to deliver net profits.
Bureau Report