Apple results give Tim Cook last laugh at critics

Apple confounded a chorus of sceptics to post blow-out sales of the iPhone and quarterly profits that have doubled in just a year.

The gadgets giant sold 35 million iPhones in the first three months of 2012, more than analysts had expected. The results showed no sign of the slowdown in the United States that some telecoms-industry insiders had warned about.

Apple shares had gyrated wildly in the run-up to its results statement last night, but the moment it came out the stock was again on a tear. After-hours trading indicated it would open up 7 per cent today.

Tim Cook, chief executive, said mobile carriers are still happy to pay subsidies to Apple to make it affordable for their customers to get an iPhone. "It's important to remember that the subsidy is not large compared to the monthly payments in a 24-month contract period," he said. "The churn from iPhone customers is the lowest of all the phones they carry and that has a direct financial benefit to the carrier."

Thanks also to soaring sales of the iPad tablet and a resurgence of interest in its Macintosh laptops, Apple achieved $39.2bn (£25bn) in revenue in the quarter and $11.6bn in profit, up from $24.7bn and $6.0bn in the first three months of 2011.