CNETAnalysis: Apple revealed its fiscal year 2012 fourth quarter earnings results Thursday, covering the 3-month period ending Sept. 29. The company, which hosted an investor call after the markets closed, posted quarterly revenue of $36 billion for a net profit of $8.2 billion. During the same time a year ago, Apple posted $28.3 billion in revenue and a net profit of $6.6 billion. International sales accounted for 60 percent of the company’s quarterly revenue. iPhone leads the charge Last quarter alone, Apple sold 26.9 million iPhones, a 58 percent unit growth from the same time last year. The iPhone 5 demand continues to outstrip supply, said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple CFO, and the company is moving to fill customer need. The phone’s figures were only counted for nine days during the quarter, bleeding expectations for its sales into the next fiscal reporting period. While the company mentioned its iOS 6 launch, it said work hasn’t stopped on fixing one lampooned feature. “We’ve made a number of improvements to Maps over the last month and we will not stop until Maps reaches our incredibly high standards,” Oppenheimer said. Fourteen million iPads were moved, jumping 26 percent from the same sales figure in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011, though still below investor expectations. Nearly 4.9 million Macs were sold in the quarter (a 1 percent unit increase over last year), while 18 new stores opened worldwide. Apple recorded a significant drop in iPod sales, selling 5.3 million units, a 19 percent unit decline from last year. iTunes brought in $2.1 billion in revenue, while the company sold 1.3 million Apple TV s in the fourth quarter. Five million units of the TV – Apple’s “beloved hobby” – were moved during fiscal year 2012, up from 2.8 million the year before. Looking ahead For the fiscal year, the Cupertino company generated over $156 billion in sales! , netting $41 billion in income. Operating cash flow reached more than $50 billion. As for total cash reserves, Apple is sitting on a little over $121 billion. Moving into the December quarter, the company expects about $52 billion in revenue. The iPhone 5 and iPad mini will lead the new product charge, Cupertino claimed, while lower pricing for the iPhone 4S and third-generation iPad will help the company chop its margins and increase revenue. “We’re dedicated to making the best products in the world,” CEO Tim Cook said during the conference call. “We are managing the company for the long run and will continue to make great long range decisions.”
