Smartphone sales down five per cent, with revenue falling nine per cent
Apple has reported its third successive quarterly drop in iPhone sales and revenue but did improve on the previous quarter.
The Californian tech giant sold 45.51 million iPhones in the three months to September 24, down five per cent from the 48 million sold a year ago.
The iPhone 7 and 7 Plus went on sale from September 16, so the results only account for eight days of sales.
Apple’s revenue was down nine per cent year-on-year to $46.85 billion, while net income also fell from $11.1 billion to $9 billion. Gross margin was 39.9 per cent compared to 38 per cent.
Perhaps significantly though, revenue in Greater China declined by 30 per cent to $8.8 billion
However, the manufacturer posted record revenue in services of $6.3 billion – up by almost a quarter (24 per cent) – which includes its contactless payments service Apple Pay.
Elsewhere, iPad sales continued to fall, down by six per cent in the quarter to 9.27 million tablets.
“Very successful”
Apple CEO Tim Cook said: “Our strong September quarter results cap a very successful fiscal 2016 for Apple.
“We’re thrilled with the customer response to iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2, as well as the incredible momentum of our Services business, where revenue grew 24 percent to set another all-time record.”
Looking forward to its Q1 2017, Apple is predicting revenue to be between $76 billion and $78 billion with it’s gross margin between 38 per sent and 38.5 per cent. Both predictions are less than the figures achieved in the first quarter of 2016.
