Apple Posts $3 Billion in Profit in Record March Quarter; iPhone Sales Double [Updated]

Apple posted yet another record quarter Tuesday for the March quarter, the company’s second fiscal quarter. The company posted revenue of US$13.5 billion and a quarterly profit of $3.07 billion, or $3.33 earnings per share (EPS). The company reported higher Mac sales, and iPhone sales grew 131% year-over-year.

Apple sold 2.94 million Macs during the quarter, which was 33% more than in the year-ago quarter. The company moved some 8.75 million iPhones, and perhaps surprisingly 10.89 million iPods, which represents just a one percent decline year-over-year.

The company’s revenue and profits represented both a record March quarter and a record non-holiday quarter. Apple reported revenue of $15.68 billion during the December quarter of 2009 (fiscal Q1), and profits of $3.38 billion, which remains the overall record.

“We’re thrilled to report our best non-holiday quarter ever, with revenues up 49 percent and profits up 90 percent,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. “We’ve launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products in the pipeline for this year.”

The March results don’t include shipments of the Apple’s new iPad, which shipped on April 3rd. For pre-orders, the company typically charges credit cards once a product ships.

Apple’s gross margins for the quarter were 41.7%, up from 39.9% year-over-year, and international sales accounted for 58% of total revenues, which was the same percentage reported in the December 2009 results.

The company offered guidance of $13-$13.4 billion in revenue for the June quarter, with an EPS of $2.28-$2.39.

Apple is about to begin its quarterly conference call with analysts, and The Mac Observer will offer full coverage of news from that event as it develops.

Shares in AAPL closed lower at $244.59 off by $2.48 (-1.00%), on strong volume of 22.9 million shares trading hands. The stock has leaped in after hours trading - see our full coverage for details.

*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.