APPLE POSTED a 36 per cent rise in profit in its second quarter, helped by strong sales of Macintosh computers and iPods, but profit margins were lower. The iPhone maker also provided a cautious outlook on future sales.
Chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said he expected gross margin in the next quarter to be similar to the 32.9 per cent it achieved in the three months to the end of March, which was down from 35.1 per cent a year ago.
Apple said it expected profit of $1 per share on revenue of $7.2 billion (€4.6 billion) for its third quarter, ending in June. It blamed the gross margin slide on lower sales of its Leopard operating system, a price cut on the low-end iPod shuffle, and higher sales at its iTunes online music and film store, which runs at breakeven or slightly profitable.
Some analysts wondered if Apple's conservative forecasts may turn out to be on the mark, given the weak US economy and component prices that may be stabilising after months of declines.
"Last quarter, they guided margins to 32 per cent and people didn't take it at face value," said Shaw Wu, analyst with American Technology Research. "This time it sounded like it maybe wasn't so conservative after all."
For its second quarter to the end of March, net profit rose to $1.05 billion from $770 million a year ago. Revenue grew by 43 per cent to $7.51 billion.
Mac shipments soared 51 per cent to almost 2.3 million units.
Mac sales were spurred by what analysts said were attractive new designs, the "halo effect" from iPods and iPhones, and consumer frustration with Microsoft's rival Windows Vista operating system.
IPod unit growth of 1 per cent, to 10.6 million units, flew in the face of expectations of a modest fall. Apple sold 1.7 million iPhones, with Mr Oppenheimer saying he was confident the company would hit its goal of selling 10 million of the devices by the end of 2008.
Apple is widely expected to launch a faster iPhone model in a few months, to address a major complaint about the gadget, especially in Europe. - (Reuters)
