Apple reports fourth quarter results
Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter that ended Sept. 28. The company posted quarterly revenue of US$37.5 billion and quarterly net profit of $7.5 billion, or $8.26 per diluted share.
These results compare to revenue of $36 billion and net profit of $8.2 billion, or $8.67 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 37 percent compared to 40 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 60 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Apple sold 33.8 million iPhones, a record for the September quarter, compared to 26.9 million in the year-ago quarter. The company also sold 14.1 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 14 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 4.6 million Macs, compared to 4.9 million in the year-ago quarter.
Apple’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $3.05 per share of the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on Nov. 14 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Nov.
"We’re pleased to report a strong finish to an amazing year with record fourth quarter revenue, including sales of almost 34 million iPhones," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. "We’re excited to go into the holidays with our new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, iOS 7, the new iPad mini with Retina Display and the incredibly thin and light iPad Air, new MacBook Pros, the radical new Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks and the next generation iWork and iLife apps for OS X and iOS.:
"We generated $9.9 billion in cash flow from operations and returned an additional $7.8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the September quarter, bringing cumulative payments under our capital return program to $36 billion," added Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer.
Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2014 first quarter: revenue between $55 billion and $58 billion; gross margin between 36.5 percent and 37.5 percent; operating expenses between $4.4 billion and $4.5 billion; other income/(expense) of $200 million; and a tax rate of 26.25%.
