Apple shares increased by eight per cent last night, after the firm revealed its second quarter profit was nearly twice as high as last year's.
In its quarterly earnings statement, the Cupertino company reported a net profit of $11.6 billion (7.2 billion), up from $6 billion (3.73 billion) in Q2 2011, after shifting 35 million iPhones.
Across the year, you're going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation only Apple can deliver.
"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."
Prior to the announcement, Apple shares were down two per cent as analysts expected sales of the smartphone to have dampened. However, hours later, the stock rallied and the firm's share price rocketed by eight per cent overnight.
Apple also sold 11.8 million iPads, which is two and a half times the number of units it shifted in Q2 2011.
Meanwhile, sales of Mac computers grew seven per cent, outstripping the growth of the wider PC market, which expanded by two per cent.
China accounted for a major portion of the firm's revenue growth. Sales in that country were three times higher than last year and now account for 20 per cent of Apple's total revenue.
"Our record March quarter drove $14 billion (8.69 billion) in cash flow from operations," added Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the third quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion (21.1 billion) and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68 (5.39)."
