The company reported net profit of US$3.07 billion for the quarter ended on March 27, which compares to profits of $1.62 billion from the same quarter a year ago. The company reported earnings per share of $3.33, which beat expectations of $2.45 from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Revenue was $13.5 billion, a growth of 49 percent from the year-ago quarter. Revenue beat analysts' expectations of $12.03 billion.
Worldwide iPhone shipments totaled 8.75 million during the quarter, an increase of 131 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. Mac computer unit shipments worldwide totaled 2.94 million, an increase of 33 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. iPod shipments totaled 10.89 million, a 1 percent drop.
The company estimated its third-quarter revenue to be in the range of $13 billion to $13.4 billion, with earnings per share of about $2.28 to $2.39. The third quarter has started with a bang for Apple. The company on April 3 announced the iPad tablet computer, and sold close to 300,000 units on the first day.
"We've launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement.
Anticipation for Apple's next-generation iPhone has also heated up after a prototype was said to be found in a California bar recently. The prototype indicated that the new phone has been redesigned and will include much-desired features such as a front-facing video camera and a flash for the camera.
During a conference call, Apple officials were not specifically asked about the product leak and declined to provide details about upcoming products. However, the company has full confidence in its upcoming product pipeline, said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer.
Apple earlier this month introduced the iPhone 4.0 OS, which is scheduled to come out in the "summer," Oppenheimer said. The OS comes with new features such as multitasking, additional enterprise features and a mobile advertising platform called iAd. iAd will allow developers to earn revenue by serving ads in applications for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Apple will host the ads on its servers and get a 40 percent cut.
Apple does not expect much revenue this calendar year from iAd, Oppenheimer said.
The company's revenue growth was fuelled by iPhone sales, Oppenheimer said. Apple recorded the highest quarterly iPhone sales ever during the period.
Revenue from iPhone sales was $5.58 billion, growing 124 percent compared to the previous year. iPhone sales went up worldwide from adding new carriers, and also from growing sales by existing carriers. The company added partners like Vodafone in the U.K. and currently has 151 carrier partners in 88 countries.
iPhone sales grew by 474 percent in Asia-Pacific, with Greater China -- which includes mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan -- showing great strength. IPhone unit shipments grew by more than nine times in Greater China.
The company recorded double-digit growth in both Mac desktop and portable shipments. Desktop shipments totaled 1.23 million units, growing 40 percent, and laptop shipments totaled 2.12 million, growing 28 percent. Overall PC revenue totaled $4.45 billion, growing by 27 percent.
The company has not determined if Mac shipments would be affected by the iPad, said Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer.
"We don't have enough to come to a judgment. We'll see how it goes," Cook said.
The iPad is in its early days, and Apple is trying to capitalize on the early mover advantage, company officials said. A new iPad model with Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities is due to go on sale in the U.S. on April 30. The iPad will go on sale in nine additional countries at the end of May, though the country names weren't specified.
