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Apple sees iPhone sales drop again but beats forecasts | Apple sees iPhone sales drop again but beats forecasts |
(35 minutes later) | |
Apple has reported a second consecutive quarter of falling iPhone sales, but the 15% drop was not as bad as analysts had feared. | Apple has reported a second consecutive quarter of falling iPhone sales, but the 15% drop was not as bad as analysts had feared. |
The US tech giant sold 40.4 million iPhones in its third quarter, slightly better than forecasts of 40.02 million. | |
Apple chief executive Tim Cook said the results reflected "stronger customer demand... than we anticipated". | Apple chief executive Tim Cook said the results reflected "stronger customer demand... than we anticipated". |
The firm said it expected sales to fall again in the fourth quarter to between $45.5bn (£34bn; €41.4bn) and $47.5bn. | |
Demand for Apple's flagship product has been slowing since the second quarter when the firm reported the first drop in iPhone sales since their 2007 launch. | |
The iPhone makes up for around two-thirds of Apple's sales and accounts for even more of its profits. | |
The slowdown in iPhone sales sent profit down 27% to $7.8bn in the three months to 25 June, while revenues fell 14.6% to $42.4bn. | |
Apple's sales in Greater China - defined by the company as China, Hong Kong and Taiwan - plunged 33%. | |
The firm blamed economic uncertainty and people not upgrading their phones as often for the drop. | |
China accounts for almost a quarter of Apple's sales, more than all of Europe combined. | |
"It is very clear that there are some signs of economic slowdown in China, and we will have to work through them. | |
"We understand China well and we remain very, very optimistic about the future there," said Apple chief financial officer Luca Maestri. | |
Results were also hit by the impact of a stronger dollar. | |
Nonetheless, shares, which have fallen almost 20% over the past year, rose over 7% in after-hours trading because the firm's overall performance was not as bad as analysts had expected. | |
Mr Maestri said comparisons to the second quarter last year when iPhone 6 sales were strong made its performance seem worse than it was. |