Apple More Than Doubles Profits In Fiscal Quarter

Apple more than doubled its profits in its third fiscal quarter, the company said Tuesday. For the period ending June 25, the company reported a net profit of $7.31 billion, a 125 percent increase from the $3.25 billion it reported in the same period last year. Revenues were reported at $28.57 billion, up from $15.70 billion during the third quarter in 2010. International sales accounted for 62 percent of that figure, the company said. During the quarter, Apple sold 20.34 million iPhones, representing a 142 percent increase from the amount sold one year ago. That increase is attributed to the company adding 42 new carriers and 15 new countries during the period, the company said during a conference call this afternoon (as reported by CNET). Its iPad sales fared even better: the 9.25 million sold represents a 183 percent increase, due in part to the company increasing production to meet demand. "We are extremely pleased with our performance which drove quarterly cash flow from operations of $11.1 billion, an increase of 131 percent year-over-year," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. "Looking ahead to the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $25 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $5.50." iTunes revenue was up 36 percent at $1.4 billion, the company said, with $2.5 billion cumulatively paid to App Store developers. The company also announced that its next Macintosh operating system, OS X Lion, will launch Wednesday. To date, 222 million iOS devices have been sold worldwide, the company said.