Apple reported revenues for its fiscal second quarter to March up 27 percent to USD 58 billion, beating its own guidance of USD 52-55 billion. The company said the results were fueled by record Q2 sales for the iPhone and Mac computers as well as an all-time record for the App Store.
Unit sales of the iPhone increased 40 percent year-on-year, while falling 18 percent from the previous quarter to 61.17 million. The iPad sold 12.62 million units, a drop of 23 percent from a year ago and 41 percent less than in the previous quarter. Mac sales rose 10 percent year-on-year to 4.56 million units.
On a geographic basis, Apple's sales growth was strongest in China, with revenues growing 71 percent from a year earlier to USD 16.82 billion after the success of the iPhone 6 there. China is now its second region, after the Americas, with sales of USD 21.32 billion, up 19 percent year-on-year.
Apple's net profit jumped to USD 13.6 billion or USD 2.33 per diluted share from USD 10.2 billion or USD 1.66 per share in the year-ago quarter. Its gross margin improved to 40.8 percent from 39.3 percent, also exceeding the company's forecast. For its fiscal third quarter, the company forecast revenues of USD 46-48 billion and a gross margin of 38.5-39.5 percent.
The company also announced an increase in its capital return programme of more than 50 percent. Under the new plans, Apple plans to return a cumulative total of USD 200 billion of cash to shareholders by the end of March 2017. The share buyback authorisation was raised to USD 140 billion from the USD 90 billion announced last year, and Apple will increase its quarterly dividend by 11 percent to USD 0.52 per share.
