Apple records highest ever profits despite fall in iPhone sales

Tech giant made £14bn in last three months of 2017

An Apple logo on a company store in San Francisco, California (AFP)

Apple has reported record revenues and profit for the last three months despite a fall in iPhone sales over the Christmas period.

In its latest quarterly financial results, the technology giant reported revenue of $88.3bn (£61.9bn), up from $78.4bn (£55bn) in the same period last year.

The results also revealed a record quarterly profit of $20.1bn (£14bn), despite sales figures announced revealing a drop in iPhone sales on the same period last year.

According to the report, Apple sold 77.3 million iPhone devices in the final three months of 2017, down on the 78.3 million sold in the same period a year earlier.

This is despite the launch of the iPhone X in November, the phone that marked the 10-year anniversary of the iPhone and featured the device’s first all-screen front panel and facial recognition technology.

The device is also the most expensive iPhone Apple has made, starting at £999.

It is this higher price which has led to increased profits despite the sales dip.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook said: “We’re thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple’s history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone lineup.

“iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November.

“We’ve also achieved a significant milestone with our active installed base of devices reaching 1.3 billion in January.

“That’s an increase of 30 percent in just two years, which is a testament to the popularity of our products and the loyalty and satisfaction of our customers.”

Elsewhere in Apple’s results, iPad sales rose by one per cent, but sales of Mac computers fell by five per cent.

The company’s next product, the intelligent home music speaker HomePod, which also includes the firm’s virtual assistant Siri, goes on sale in the US and UK on 9 February.