Strong Mac, IPhone Sales Boost Apple's Earnings

Apple on Wednesday reported strong earnings for the third quarter of 2008, buoyed by strong iPod and iPhone sales.

Net quarterly income for Apple was US$1.07 billion, compared to $818 million for the year-earlier quarter. Earnings per share were $1.19, which beat analyst estimates. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial estimated net income for the quarter ended June 28 to be $976 million and earnings per share of $1.08.

Net revenue was $7.46 billion, beating analyst estimates of $7.37 billion.

The company sold 717,000 iPhone units during the quarter, compared to 270,000 a year ago. Macintosh shipments amounted to 2.5 million during the quarter, growing 41 percent year-over-year, with revenue growth of 43 percent. IPod shipments totaled 11 million units, a 12 percent unit growth and 7 percent year-over-year revenue growth.

Expectations are high with the new iPhone 3G, which was launched in this quarter and sold 1 million units over the weekend, according to analyst estimates.

"We think we have a real winner with our new iPhone 3G, and we're busy finishing several more wonderful new products to launch in the coming months," said Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, in a statement.