Apple Reports Higher Mac, iPod Sales

Apple continues to post solid numbers as it reported another strong quarter on Wednesday. For the quarter ending March 31, the Cupertino company posted revenues of $4.36 billion, which includes $410 million in profit.

These numbers were up from $3.24 billion in revenue and $290 million in profit from the year ago quarter. Additionally, the company reported its share of the U.S. audio player business increased to 78 percent from 71 percent in December, and its share of the legal music downloads increased to 87 percent thanks to the iTunes Music Store.

The iTunes Music Store now contains some 2.9 million songs, 9,000 music videos, and some 70 television shows, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer told financial analysts in a conference call Wednesday.

"We've generated over $10 billion in revenue and almost $1 billion in earnings in the first half of fiscal 2006," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs in prepared remarks. "Our transition to Intel processors is going very well, and our music business just experienced another quarter of outstanding growth."

iPod sales, while not as impressive as the holiday quarter's 14 million units, still came in at 8.53 million, a 32 percent jump over the last non-holiday quarter, and a 61 percent year-over-year increase.

Oppenheimer also said a new target for the company would be to focus on areas where the device has traditionally done poorly, such as Asia. "We view [the issues] as a market opportunity," he said.

1,112,000 Macintoshes were sold during the period, a 4 percent increase from a year ago. The company has made great strides in bringing its line of computers to the Intel platform, with only the iBook and PowerMac left to make the transition. Those models are expected to make the switch by this fall.

Some of the sluggish growth in the computer sector could be explained by consumers waiting until Apple completes its move to Intel. Apple's "budget" system, the Mac mini, made the transition late in the quarter and analysts had warned that some may choose to wait to upgrade their machines until the migration is complete.

For the upcoming quarter, Apple says it expects revenue of about $4.2 to 4.4 billion on earnings per share of $.39 to $.43. Oppenheimer said their conservative guidance had a lot to do with consumers delaying their purchases due to the Intel transition.