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| Apple profits fall for first time in a decade | Apple profits fall for first time in a decade |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Computer and smartphone maker Apple has reported its first quarterly drop in profits in a decade. | Computer and smartphone maker Apple has reported its first quarterly drop in profits in a decade. |
| The iPhone maker made a net profit of $9.5bn (£6.2bn) for the three months to the end of March, down from the $11.6bn it reported at the same time last year. | The iPhone maker made a net profit of $9.5bn (£6.2bn) for the three months to the end of March, down from the $11.6bn it reported at the same time last year. |
| But the results were better than many investors had expected, and strong sales of iPhones and iPads helped boost revenues to $43.6bn. | But the results were better than many investors had expected, and strong sales of iPhones and iPads helped boost revenues to $43.6bn. |
| Concerns among investors had caused Apple's share price to plummet. | Concerns among investors had caused Apple's share price to plummet. |
| It had lost around 40% of its stock market value since hitting an all-time high in September last year. | It had lost around 40% of its stock market value since hitting an all-time high in September last year. |
| Although Apple remains a dominant player in the tablet computer and smartphone markets, investors were worried that its market share was being eroded by increasingly popular offerings from rivals such as Samsung. | |
| Analysts have also suggested the company needs to innovate and develop new products to stay ahead of the competition, rather than relying on updates to existing products. | |
| But this latest set of results appeared to please investors. | |
| Sales of flagship products like the iPhone and iPad beat expectations. The company said it sold 37.4 million iPhones and 19.5 million iPads worldwide in the three-month period. | |
| The company also announced plans to buy back $60bn in shares, and raise its dividend to shareholders by 15%. That encouraged investors and Apple's shares rose 5.5% in after-hours trading on Wall Street. | |
| "We are pleased to report record March quarter revenue thanks to continued strong performance of iPhone and iPad," said Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, who took over from Steve Jobs in 2011. | "We are pleased to report record March quarter revenue thanks to continued strong performance of iPhone and iPad," said Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, who took over from Steve Jobs in 2011. |
| "Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software and services, and we are very excited about the products in our pipeline." | "Our teams are hard at work on some amazing new hardware, software and services, and we are very excited about the products in our pipeline." |
| Apple has made no announcements about what those products might be, and analysts say they are not expecting new product launches imminently. |