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.