iPhone sales help Apple post record profits

Apple

The group reported record net profits of $13.06bn (£8.36bn), or $13.87 per share, well ahead of analysts' predictions.

Wall Street had expected revenues of $38.8bn with sales of about 30 million iPhones, boosted by the launch of the 4S model in October, according to the Financial Times.

Sales of models including the 4S in the final quarter were up 128% on a year earlier, while Apple also sold 15.43 million iPads, a sales increase of 111%.

And on Christmas Day alone, the ITunes store raked in a staggering $120m (£77m). Total iTunes revenues for the quarter were $1.7bn (£1.09bn).

Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, says Apple ended the last quarter of 2011 with a "significant backlog" for the iPhone 4S. The company says it expects to generate earnings of around $32.5bn in the current quarter.

Cook adds: "Last year was the year of the iPad for the second year in a row, so we are going to continue to innovate like crazy in this area and we think we can continue to compete with anyone."

Apple is expected to unveil an upgraded iPad 3 in the spring.

The only downside to the results was a decline of 21% in iPod sales, which fell to 15.4 million units. Apple won't be too worried by that – it's now sitting on a cash mountain of nearly $100bn.

• In a separate development, Apple has lost its appeal in a Dutch court in which it claimed Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 infringed its iPad design rights.

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Andy Clough

Andy is Global Brand Director of What Hi-Fi? and has been a technology journalist for 30 years. During that time he has covered everything from VHS and Betamax, MiniDisc and DCC to CDi, Laserdisc and 3D TV, and any number of other formats that have come and gone. He loves nothing better than a good old format war. Andy edited several hi-fi and home cinema magazines before relaunching whathifi.com in 2008 and helping turn it into the global success it is today. When not listening to music or watching TV, he spends far too much of his time reading about cars he can't afford to buy.