Analysis: Appleâs record breakers
Appleâs Q1 FY2015 proved to be stellar and broke records for quarterly profit, and could be the sign of things to come
The headline figures from Appleâs first quarter results call for the 2015 financial year were nothing short of astounding. With around 74.5 million iPhone handsets sold during the three month period, a profit margin of 39% on each handset and quarterly profit of $18bn (£11.8bn), Apple managed to defy its critics, exceed analyst expectations and achieve the highest quarterly profit on record.
Central to this was the decision to break from the norm and release not one, but two handset types when it made its iPhone 6 reveal late last year. By preparing a phablet as well as a traditional smartphone device, Apple maximised its reach and sales increased 41% year-on-year in the period. Commercial success in China â for the first time in its history Apple sold more smartphones in the country than any other manufacturer âwas a huge coup for the firm, particularly given that it halted the meteoric rise of Xiaomi.
What Apple could not gloss over however was yet another disappointing quarter for its tablet devices. The firm shifted 21.42 million iPads despite the annual sales bump over the festive period, down almost 18% on Q1 2014 and more than 6% down on Q1 2013 sales.
The iPad problem
Chief executive Tim Cook, having seemingly steered smartphones onto a more profitable path, must now do the same for the firmâs iPads. Tablet penetration is forecast to rise in the coming years however demand for the devices isnât living up to expectation, with many firms having exaggerated how frequently consumers would look to upgrade.
The iPad range has not received a particularly ground breaking update for some time with the most recent releases instead only offering functionalities first seen on iPhones or Macbooks, such as retina display and TouchID login. Apple is now routinely linked with the release of a 12â+ âproâ version of the device, something which could prove true later this year.
What that, coupled with the launch of the iPhone 6 Plus, might mean for the smaller-form iPad Minis has not yet been disclosed, with a potential discontinuation of the line also rumoured. But with its phenomenally successful iPhone 6 refresh Apple has proven it has the capacity to recapture consumer imagination and with the Apple Watch release now just months away, the firmâs Q1 2015 success could just be a sign of things to come.