Apple Sales Exceed Expectations in Q2 2017

Apple’s newer lines of business – Apple Pay, the App Store and Apple Music – helped the tech giant to drive growth in its third quarter.

Quarterly profit rose 12% to $8.7 billion. Revenues grew by 7% year-on-year to $45.4 billion.

The news sent its stock surging more than 5% in after-hours trade.

Apple, which also forecast strong sales, is expected to release new and updated iPhones next month.

CEO Tim Cook was tight-lipped when it came to details on the new launch and said reports about the new phones may have caused some people to “pause” their purchases of the existing phones.

However, “while that affects us in the short-term, it probably bodes well”, he added.

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Even with some people waiting for the new models, Apple said the number of iPhones sold in the quarter increased a solid 2% year-on-year, driven by strong demand in markets such as Latin America and the Middle East.

The growth lifted revenue from iPhones, which account for the bulk of the company’s sales, by 3% to $24.8 billion.

Apple also said the number of iPads sold climbed 28% year-on-year, while revenues from the product increased 2%. The rise follows the introduction of new models, as well as increased efforts to incorporate the tablets into operations at schools and in businesses.

Revenue from other devices, such as the Apple Watch, Apple TV and Beats products, jumped 23% year-on-year.

Apple’s China revenues slipped 9.5% from a year earlier to slightly more than $8 billion.

Its flagship iPhone is losing market share to a slew of local competitors, while the company also faces challenges in dealing with China’s strict internet censorship regime.

Tim Cook stressed the success of its services unit, which includes Apple Pay, the App Store and Apple Music. The division had sales of nearly $7.3 billion during the three months to the end of June, a rise of 22% on the same period last year.

Apple Pay now accounts for almost 90% of mobile payment transactions around the world, said CFO Luca Maestri. Paying accounts on the App Store are also on the rise, he said.

Tim Cook also addressed Apple’s decision to remove some products from its App Store in China, saying the company had to abide by the law.