Apple’s iPad sales blamed as profit fails to meet expectations

Apple’s profits have fallen short of expectations, with weaker-than-anticipated iPad sales to blame.

Profit rose to $8.22bn (€6.35bn) in the fiscal fourth quarter, Cupertino, California-based Apple said last night. That compares with the $8.3bn average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales and profit forecasts for the current quarter also fell short of predictions.

Apple, a major employer in Cork, sold 14m iPads, fewer than the 15.3m predicted by analysts in a Bloomberg survey, as customers delayed buying old versions before the release of the iPad mini.

Apple’s stock was halted before the results were released. It had slipped 1.2% to $609.54 at the close in New York, and has shed 13% since reaching a record the week iPhone 5 went on sale, related partly to the company’s struggle to keep up with demand for the smartphone.

First-quarter earnings will be about $11.75 a share on sales of about $52bn, Apple said. That compares with analysts’ estimates of $15.49 a share on sales of $55.1bn.

Apple is also grappling with increased competition in mobile-device markets it pioneered. It is vying with Samsung for leadership in global smartphones, and is squaring off with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, which have introduced iPad alternatives.

Apple sold 26.9m iPhones during the period, more than the 26.3m predicted by analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Analysts had lowered iPad predictions earlier this week after it said it had sold 100m iPads to date — an indication some quarterly projections were too high.