Cementing its shift from being a computer company to a multimedia powerhouse, Apple revealed that it shipped more than 10.2 million iPods in a remarkable fourth quarter that saw profits of US$904m on revenues of US$6.2bn.
This compares with revenues of US$4.8bn last year and profits of US$542m.
For the full year Apple will have made revenues of US$24bn and generated US$15.4bn in cash and has no debt.
Despite the popularity of its ubiquitous media player gadgets, Apple is proving it is still a formidable player in the computing world.
During the fourth quarter Apple shipped 2.1 million Macintosh computers, up 34pc on last year and exceeding the previously held quarterly record for Macintosh shipments by 400,000.
The sale of some 10.2 million iPod devices represents a 17pc growth on last year.
2007 saw the beginning of Apple’s foray into the mobile phone business and its iPhone hit stores in the US in June. In the fourth quarter Apple sold some 1.1 million iPhone devices but cumulative fiscal 2007 sales of iPhones amounted to 1.3 million devices shipped.
“We are very pleased to have generated over $24 billion in revenue and $3.5 billion in net income in fiscal 2007,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re looking forward to a strong December quarter as we enter the holiday season with Apple’s best products ever.”
“Apple ended the fiscal year with $15.4 billion in cash and no debt,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2008, we expect revenue of about $9.2 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $1.42.”
By John Kennedy
