Apple profit climbs to $11.6 billion

Apple on Tuesday reported it made a profit of $11.6 billion in the first three months of the year driven by record sales of iPhones and iPad tablet computers. Revenue for the quarter ended March 31 was $39.2 billion as iPad sales more than doubled from the same quarter the previous year and iPhone sales surged 88 percent, according to Apple. "We're thrilled with sales of over 35 million iPhones and almost 12 million iPads in the March quarter," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook. "The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you're going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver." Apple's net income for the quarter was nearly double that seen in the same three-month period a year earlier, when sales tallied $24.7 billion. The Cupertino, California-based company released the third-generation of its market-ruling iPad tablet computer in March, meaning its blockbuster sales out of the gate have only begun to pump up Apple's bottom line. "Our record March quarter results drove $14 billion in cash flow from operations," said Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer. "Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68." While Apple gadgets were hot in markets around the world, demand was "mind-boggling" in China, where revenue for the quarter was a record-high $7.9 billion, Cook said in an earnings conference call. Apple took in $12.4 billion in China in the six months that mark the first half of its current fiscal year, promising that the company will easily eclipse the $13.3 billion in sales in that country in the entire prior fiscal year. "China has an enormous number of people moving into higher income groups, middle-class if you will, and this is creating a demand for goods," Cook said. "There is tremendous opportunity for companies that understand China, and we are doing everything we can to understand it." Cook said that Apple had the "mother of all Januaries" that included tending to a huge backlog of gadget orders and launching the iPhone 4 in China. Apple's stock price reversed a losing trend for the day after the release of the earnings figures, jumping seven percent to $599.50 a share on the Nasdaq exchange.