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SAN JOSE, Calif., Jul 14, 2004 (AP Online via COMTEX)
-- Apple Computer Inc. posted stronger-than-expected third-quarter profit
and revenues Wednesday on heavy sales of its computers and portable music
players.
For the three months ended June 26, Apple said it
earned $61 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with $19 million, or 5
cents per share, in the same period last year. Revenues increased 30
percent to $2.01 billion.
Excluding an after-tax restructuring charge of $6
million, the company's net profit would have been $67 million, or 17 cents
per share.
Wall Street analysts were expecting the
Cupertino-based company to earn 15 cents per share on sales of $1.94
billion, according to a survey by Thomson First Call.
"It was an outstanding quarter - our highest
third-quarter revenue in eight years," said Apple's chief executive Steve
Jobs. "Our Mac-based revenue grew a healthy 19 percent, and our
music-based revenue grew an incredible 162 percent."
Apple shipped 876,000 Macintosh computers in the
quarter, accounting for 58 percent of the quarter's revenue growth,
Apple's chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said in an interview.
Also, Apple shipped 860,000 iPod portable players,
bringing the product's lifetime total to 3.7 million units, Oppenheimer
said.
Earlier in the week, Apple announced that 100 million
songs had been sold at its iTunes Music Store - a milestone that took
three months longer than the company had hoped but still a significant
benchmark that proved Apple's dominance in the online music market.
Apple also announced on July 2 a delay in the release
of the next-generation iMac until September. That means Apple will miss
the back-to-school rush, a critical sales period for computer makers.
Still, Apple officials gave an optimistic outlook
Wednesday.
For the fourth quarter, the company expects earnings
of 16 cents to 17 cents per share on revenue of $2.1 billion, Oppenheimer
said. For the fiscal year, the company expects to hit $8 billion in sales,
a 29 percent increase from the previous year.
Shares of Apple closed Wednesday up 36 cents at $29.58
on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In after-hours trading, the shares were up 67
cents to $30.25.
Copyright 2004 Associated Press, All rights reserved
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