
Apple still juicy
It’s shaping up to be a banner year for Apple after another blowout quarter.
Despite the absence of CEO Steve Jobs, jitters about supply-chain disruptions and an iPad shortage, the tech giant reported record profit and revenue in the latest quarter.
Apple’s second-quarter profit surged 95 percent and revenue jumped 83 percent, fueled by record iPhone sales along with strong demand for Macs and iPads. The boffo results put the company on track to hit the $100 billion annual revenue mark this year.
In the latest quarter, Apple sold 18.6 million iPhones worldwide — up 150 percent year over year — helped by the new CDMA version that opened it to more markets, including Verizon customers.
“That’s off the chart,” Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said in a conference call yesterday with analysts.
Mac sales also revved up, with 3.76 million sold, up 28 percent and outperforming the PC market, Cook said.
The only data that fell short of expectations were sales of the iPad, which were hurt by supply constraints. Apple sold 4.69 million units between the first and second iterations of the device. Some analysts were expecting sales of at least 6 million.
Apple said it sold as many iPad 2s as it could make in the face of “staggering” demand. The iPad 2 is in short supply in stores while “gray markets” offering them at steeper prices are widespread.
With all the big product sales, Apple’s quarterly profit hit $6 billion on revenue of $24.67 billion.
Meanwhile, Apple’s money tree continues to grow. The company is sitting on $65.8 billion cash, up from $59.7 billion in the previous quarter.
The only downside is that this could be as good as it gets. Apple’s revenue has been accelerating every quarter year over year since September 2009. The growth could slow next quarter to about 50 percent based on Apple’s forecasts, although it has a reputation for low-balling guidance.
Apple shares jumped $10.61, or 3.1 percent, in after-hours trading to $353.02, after closing up 1.4 percent.
Analysts were hoping for hints about upcoming products, but it seemed clear that a faster 4G LTE iPhone is not in the cards quite yet.
Cook said he believes there are too many design compromises to making a phone for an LTE network such as Verizon’s.
The company also stayed quiet on the future of iTunes and any potential “cloud” music-storage services that many Apple observers anticipate.
One issue that has yet to surface is supply troubles out of Japan. Cook said the company did not have any supply issues last quarter in the aftermath of the devastating tsunami and earthquakes. The impact would be minimal this quarter, he said, but beyond that he wouldn’t predict.
Separately, AT&T reported big sales, thanks to the popularity of the iPhone. The telecom giant heavily discounted the iPhone 3GS to $49 after its rival Verizon began selling the iPhone 4 in February.
The big discount came at a hefty price as it had to pay more to subsidize the phones, but the company was able to maintain its subscribers. gsloane@nypost.com

