AT&T Q3 iPhone Sales Break Record

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 10/26/2009

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Apple Posts Fiscal Q4 Profit

Dallas — AT&T activated a record number of iPhones and other integrated 3G devices in its fiscal third quarter, with iPhone activations hitting 3.2 million and integrated-device activations hitting 4.3 million.

Integrated devices feature hard or virtual QWERTY keyboards.

iPhone activations have surged following the late-second-quarter launch of the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 3G S at $199 and $299, respectively, and a reduction in the price of the 8GB iPhone 3G to $99 from $199. The 3G S models launched June 19 double cellular-download speeds and double memory capacity over their predecessors.

Almost 40 percent of iPhones activated in the quarter were sold to consumers new to the AT&T wireless network, the company said.

Also in the third quarter, integrated-device activations of 4.3 million exceeded the second quarter's 3.5 million integrated-device activations, bringing the percentage of AT&T's 43.4 million postpaid subscribers using integrated devices to 41.7 percent. Average revenues per integrated-device subscriber was 1.8 times that of the company's other subscribers.

Overall revenues from selling wireless devices fell slightly in the third quarter by 6.7 percent to $1.26 billion but was up for the first three quarters by 2.8 percent to $3.71 billion. Nonetheless, rising service revenues pushed up total wireless operating revenues by 10 percent in the third quarter to $12.4 billion and 9 percent during the first three quarters to $39.8 billion.

Apple Posts Fiscal Q4 Profit

BY JOSEPH PALENCHAR

Cupertino, Calif. —Apple reported its most profitable quarter ever in its fiscal fourth quarter, ended Sept. 30.

There were record Mac and iPhone sales, and generating a 46.6 percent gain in net income to $1.67 billion on a 25 percent gain in sales to $9.87 billion.

For the full fiscal year, sales were up 12.5 percent to $36.5 billion, and net income was up 18 percent to $5.7 billion.

For the quarter, the company's retail stores worldwide generated $1.87 billion in sales, up 8.7 percent from the year-ago period and up 25 percent sequentially from the third quarter. Also for the quarter, Apple's gross margin rose to 36.6 percent from the year-ago 34.7 percent.

Worldwide iPod sales during the quarter declined 8 percent in units year over year to 10.2 million and 6 percent in dollars to $1.54 billion, but unit sales were flat sequentially and up sequentially in dollars by 5 percent. Revenues from Apple-branded and third-party iPod accessories, iTunes store sales and other iPod services rose 22 percent to $1 billion.

Sales of iPhones, which have been rolled out in more countries, rose 7 percent in units to 7.37 million, while revenues generated by iPhone hardware sales, carrier agreements and from Apple-branded and third-party iPhone accessories rose an astounding 195 percent to $2.3 billion.

Sales of desktops and portables combined rose 9.2 percent to $3.95 billion.

All told, desktops and laptops accounted for 40 percent of Apple's fourth-quarter revenue, while iPods and related revenues accounted for 26 percent, iPhones and related revenues accounted for 23 percent, and peripherals and software accounted for 11 percent.

Excluding sales through the company's stores, Apple's company's U.S. sales grew 20 percent during the fourth quarter to $4.3 billion, with Europe posting 45 percent growth to $2.5 billion; Japan sales up 36 percent to $434 million; and other geographic areas, including Asia Pacific, rising 39 percent to $781 million.

For its part, research company iSuppli said Apple has been gaining share in the global smartphone and PC markets in 2009. The company said worldwide smartphone shipments would rise 11.6 percent in calendar 2009 while iPhones will soar 37 percent.