Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Apple iPhone No. 1, CEO says

Continued...Most analysts tend not to view Apple and RIM as direct competitors since the iPhone, with its emphasis on Web browsing and multimedia applications, is geared mainly toward consumers, while the BlackBerry has traditionally been considered a business tool.

But the distinctions have blurred in recent months after Apple unveiled efforts to support corporate customers and RIM took the wraps off its Storm touch-screen device, which appears to be aimed squarely at iPhone buyers.

Still, Levy argued there was ample room for both companies to grow market share as consumers increasingly ditch cellphones for all-in-one devices.

Apple reported a fourth-quarter profit of $1.14 billion (U.S.), or $1.26 a share, up from $904 million, or $1.01 a share, in the year-earlier period, beating analysts' average estimates.

Revenue, meanwhile, jumped 27 per cent to $7.9 billion.

Shipments of Mac computers increased 21 per cent from last year to 2.61 million, while iPod shipments rose 8 per cent, Apple said.

Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, said that while Apple set records for Macintosh and iPod sales in a non-holiday quarter, iPhone results were the brightest spot.

"We blew it out on the iPhone," he said.

For the important holiday quarter ending in December, Apple forecast a profit of between $1.06 and $1.35 a share on revenue of between $9 billion to $10 billion, although the company has historically been cautious in its outlook. End.

Source

No comments: