iPod sales power Apple’s fivefold increase in profits

APPLE Computers’ third-quarter profits rose fivefold as sales of iPod music players unexpectedly surged to a record and Macintosh computer shipments reached a five-year high.

Net income rose to $320 million or 37 cents a share, from $61m, or 8c, a year earlier, California-based Apple said in a statement yesterday. Sales climbed 75% to $3.52bn, the company’s highest ever. Profit beat analysts’ estimates for the seventh straight quarter.

A jump in iPod shipments to 6.16 million, seven times as many as a year ago, allayed concerns that demand for the iPod is waning.