Apple has announced its Q1 2016 financial results, and is unsurprisingly still one of the most profitable businesses in the world. However, it isn’t all sunshine at Cupertino; as the company is facing the reality of reduced iPhone and iPad sales.
The company posted an impressive revenue of $75.9 billion (about RM323 billion) in its first quarter of 2016, with a profit of $18.4 billion (about RM78 billion). This comes from moving 74.8 million iPhones and 16.1 million iPads. While the sales numbers are certainly larger than most other electronics companies, it still shows a considerable slump for Apple.
iPhone sales grew by a meager 0.4-percent year-on-year, despite being the first full quarter of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales. Similarly, iPad sales are down by 25-percent as compared to the same time period last year. It looks like the new iPad Pro has done little to arrest the declining popularity of Apple’s tablet, although it could be that people are less inclined to keep replacing their iPads every year.
Apple’s revenue was boosted by its new “other products” category, which includes the Apple TV, Apple Watch, and the iPod. With a revenue of some $4.4 billion (about RM 18 billion), the category grew by an impressive 63-percent from the same time last year. Of course, there was no Apple Watch to boost the Q1 2015 numbers at the time; but it has proved that Apple is capable of diversifying its offerings enough to offset any potential slump in iPhone sales.
Apple CEO Tim Cook blamed the reduced sales numbers on a weakness in foreign economies. More than two-thirds of Apple’s business happens outside the US, and a global weakening of currencies has apparently cut into the profits. This was not helped by what Cook called a “softness” in the Chinese market at the moment.
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