Apple boasts of record earnings in fourth quarter report

Posted on 20 October 2014 at 23:52

Apple has divulged its fourth quarter 2014 financials, revealing what the iPhone maker calls “record September quarter revenue and earnings.”

The company posted total revenue of $42.1 billion (about £26b, AU$47.9b) for the quarter that ended September 27. Quarterly net profit reached $8.5 billion (about £5.26b, AU$9.7b).

Compare that to revenue and net profit of $37.5 billion (about £23.2b, AU$42.6b) and $7.5 billion (about £4.6b, AU$8.5b) respectively during the same period last year, and it’s easy to see why Apple is pleased with itself.

Gross margin rose from 37% to 38% compared with last year as well.

Higher and higher

Apple attributed 60% of all its revenue in Q4 2014 to international sales.

The company’s announcement cites CEO Tim Cook reiterating that the September release of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus was Apple’s biggest iPhone launch ever.

Apple also attributed its success in this quarter to strong Mac and App Store sales.

Apple Chief Financial Operator Luca Maestri reported 20% EPS growth and $13.3 billion (about £8.22b, AU$15.1b) in cash flow from operations, another record for the company. Apple spent $20 billion (about £12.4b, AU$22.8b) in the quarter, with cumulative returns of $94 billion (about £58.2b, AU$106.9b).

For Q1 of fiscal 2015 Apple predicts revenue between $63.5 billion (about £39.3b, AU$72.3b) and $66.5 billion (about £41.1b, AU$75.7b), gross margin between 37.5% and 38.5%, operating expenses between $5.4 billion (about £3.3b, AU$6.1b) and $5.5 billion (about £3.4b, AU$6.3b), other expense of $325 million (about £200m, AU$370m), and a tax rate of 26.5%.