T he fiscal 2003 third quarter financial results that were announced today showed Apple Computer exceeding its revenue target despite the rough economic climate.
The computer maker showed a net profit of US$19 million, or $.05 per diluted share compared with a net profit of $32 million, or $.09 per diluted share during the 2002 third quarter. Revenues increased 8 percent from last year to $1.545 billion and gross margins were 27.7 percent, up from 27.4 percent in the year-ago quarter.
Though Appleis profits were down from the year ago period, the company beat consensus estimates of $.03 per share.
Unit shipments were down from the year ago quarter, though up from previous quarter. Apple reported shipping 771,000 Macintosh computers during the quarter. During Apple CFO Fred Andersonis conference call today, he attributed the rise in revenues to sales of the iPod, the iTMS, as well as software products such as Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, Keynote, and others. According to Mr. Anderson, the new revenue streams more than offset the decrease in unit sales of Macs.
"This was a great new product quarter for Apple, starting with the iTunes Music Store and the new third-generation iPods, and ending with the announcement of the Power Mac G5 and the developer preview of Panther, the fourth major release of Mac OS X," said Steve Jobs, Appleis CEO. "Customer response to our new products has been very strong, and this quarter we are focused on delivering Power Mac G5s beginning in August and finishing Panther for release later this year."
Revenue from interest and other investments clocked in at US$17 million, meaning that Apple profited some US$2 million from operations. This once again places Apple as the only other PC company other than Dell to earn a profit on operations.
Also during Fred Andersonis conference call, he noted that the iTMS almost broke even in the June quarter, its first quarter of operations, a somewhat remarkable feat. The company sold some 5 million songs during the roughly five weeks it was operational during the quarter, and has sold another 1.5 million songs so far during the July quarter. Mr. Anderson refused to offer a breakdown on the mix of song sales on the iTMS that are full albums, vs. singles sales. The idea of allowing singles sales at the iTMS is causing some consternation amongst some established recording acts.
Mr. Anderson also offered aggressive guidance for the September quarter, saying that Apple would see sequential growth in revenues and earnings.
A Webcast of the Q3 2003 financial results conference call is available in on-demand audio and video streaming at the Apple Web site.
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