Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 2015 first quarter that ended Dec. 27, 2014. The company posted record quarterly revenue of $74.6 billion and record quarterly net profit of $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share.
These results compare to revenue of $57.6 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $2.07 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 39.9% compared to 37.9% in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 65 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
The results were fueled by all-time record revenue from iPhone and Mac® sales as well as record performance of the App Store. iPhone unit sales of 74.5 million also set a new record.
“We’d like to thank our customers for an incredible quarter, which saw demand for Apple products soar to an all-time high,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a press release. “Our revenue grew 30%over last year to $74.6 billion, and the execution by our teams to achieve these results was simply phenomenal.”
“Our exceptional results produced EPS growth of 48 percent over last year, and $33.7 billion in operating cash flow during the quarter, an all-time record,” added Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri. “We spent over $8 billion on our capital return program, bringing total returns to investors to almost $103 billion, over $57 billion of which occurred in just the last 12 months.”
Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2015 second quarter:
° Revenue between $52 billion and $55 billion;
° Gross margin between 38.5% and 39.5%;
° Operating expenses between $5.4 billion and $5.5 billion;
° Other income/(expense) of $350 million;
° A tax rate of 26.3%.
Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $.47 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on February 12, 2015, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 9, 2015.