Apple Computer on Wednesday reported a profit of US$320 million — or $.37 per diluted share — for the company’s fiscal third quarter, the highest in the company’s history. Apple said it shipped 1,182,000 Macs and 6,155,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 35 percent growth in Macs and 616 percent growth in iPods over the year-ago quarter.
Apple also reported the highest quarterly revenue in the company’s history, which came in at $3.52 billion. These results compare to a net profit of $61 million, or $.08 per diluted share, and revenue of $2.01 billion in the year- ago quarter, and represent revenue growth of 75 percent and net profit growth of 425 percent.
“We are delighted to report Apple’s best quarter ever in both revenue and earnings,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “The launch of Mac OS X Tiger has been a tremendous success, and we have more amazing new products in the pipeline.”
International sales accounted for 39 percent of the quarter’s revenue, according to Apple.
Looking forward, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said he expects revenue of about $3.5 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $.32 for the fiscal fourth quarter.