Apple results boosted by laptop demand

Strong demand for laptops and the latest iPhone device has helped US technology giant Apple post stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings.

The firm said profits in the three months to June 30 jumped 15% to $1.23bn (€8.6m) on sales of 8.3 bn (€5.8m).

Meanwhile, internet group Yahoo reported an 8% rise in quarterly earnings to 141.4 m (€99.5m) after margins were helped by job losses and other cost cuts. It marked Yahoo’s first quarterly earnings improvement since the start of 2008.

Apple, which recently welcomed chief executive and co-founder Steve Jobs back from medical leave, said it sold more than 5.2 million iPhones in the quarter, more than seven times the level it sold in the 2008 quarter, thanks in part to a newly released version of the device.

Apple also sold 4% more Mac computers than a year ago, with a 13% rise in laptop unit sales more than making up for a 10% drop in desktops.

Chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said: “In a better economy I think we would have sold even more.”

Apple’s decision to cut laptop prices during the quarter helped it buck the industry trend, even though the move dragged laptop revenues down 2%.

The company said Mac revenue was also hurt as businesses that typically buy more expensive models continued to put off technology spending.

The lowering of prices did not eat into Apple’s gross margin, which improved from a year ago and beat expectations. Apple said component costs were not as high as anticipated.

Apple’s revenues increased in every region, including the US and Europe, while average revenue in each of Apple’s retail stores was 5.9 m (€4.1m), lower than a year ago.

Even though iPod Touch unit sales more than doubled, total iPod unit sales fell 7%, affected by declines in what Apple considers its traditional MP3 players - iPod Classic, Nano and Shuffle.

Mr Oppenheimer said such declines were to be expected as Apple cannibalises sales by offering similar features in the iPod Touch and the iPhone.