Apple iPhone sales fall again as profits slide 27pc

Smartphone sales fall for second straight quarter but CEO Cook says results reflect stronger customer demand and business performance than it had expected

Apple iPhone sales have fallen for the second consecutive quarter, with profits down by 27 per cent.

Reporting its Q3 financial results for the three months ending June 25, the manufacturer revealed it sold 40.399 million iPhones – down 15 per cent from a year ago.

Revenue also fell 15 per cent from the same period 12 months ago to $42.358 billion, while profits were down 27 per cent to $10.7 billion.

Notably, sales in Greater China declined by a third to $8.848 billion. Gross margin for the quarter was 38 per cent compared to 39.7 per cent in the year-ago quarter.

International sales accounted for 63 per cent of the quarter’s revenue while elsewhere, iPad sales fell nine per cent year-on-year to 9.950 million units. Apple Watch sales were not revealed.

The manufacturer is expecting revenue of between $45.5 billion and $47.5 billion in its fourth quarter, with gross margin between 37.5 per cent and 38 per cent.

Better than expected

Apple CEO Tim Cook said: “We are pleased to report third quarter results that reflect stronger customer demand and business performance than we anticipated at the start of the quarter.

“We had a very successful launch of iPhone SE and we’re thrilled by customers’ and developers’ response to software and services we previewed at WWDC in June.”