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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Thursday, January 15, 2004

Apple financials in-depth

Macintouch: "Apple reported financial results for its most recent fiscal quarter: a profit of $63 million ($.17 per diluted share) on quarterly revenue of $2 billion. The company said it shipped 733,000 iPods and 829,000 Macs. Some notes from a conference call with Apple CFO Fred Anderson:

* Portables accounted for a record high percentage of sales, 48%. Apple sold 195,000 PowerBooks, 201,000 iBooks, 206,00 Power Macs and 227,000 iMacs in the quarter. Dual-processor (high-end) models accounted for a larger part of the Power Mac mix than expected (see below).

* There were 73 Apple retail stores open by the end of the quarter, producing $9 million in 'segment profit' plus $52 million in 'manufacturing profit.' The new Tokyo store was a big success, generating $1 million/week on average. A San Francisco store is due to open in the Spring, with an Osaka store due in the Fall.

* Anderson noted higher-than-expected warranty expenses for the quarter, caused by screen problems with the 15" PowerBook and iBook hardware problems. This contributed to a reduction in Apple's gross margin to 26.7%, a little lower than the company expected, but Anderson said that the 15" PowerBook problem has been fixed: 'For any new systems being shipped, the problem's been resolved.'

* With plenty of cash on hand, Apple is planning to become a 'debt-free company' next month, by retiring $300 million in 'senior debt.' Apple sold its remaining shares in Akamai for a $4 million pre-tax gain ($3 million after taxes). Revenue from non-computer sales accounted for 37% of Apple's total (13% of which was iPod sales). Direct sales also rose, to 43% of the total, with Internet sales "up appreciably."

* 'Higher-education' sales were up strongly year-over-year. [Remember Virginia Tech's purchase of 1,100 dual-CPU Power Mac G5s...]. K-12 sales were down a bit, attributed to continuing budget problems faced by school districts.

* Panther revenue 'was just phenomenal,' according to Anderson, who said it was the best first quarter ever for Mac operating system revenue, a 54% increase year over year. "

[ Posted at 7:24 PM | Permalink ]