Apple beats profit predictions

Apple exceeded Wall Street expectations for its financial third quarter to post its seventh consecutive quarter of profit, buoyed by strong sales of its iMac computer.

Revenue for the quarter ended 26 June, rose 11 per cent to $1.56bn, of which international sales made up 45 per cent. Net profit doubled to $203m or $1.20 per share, including a one-off $89m tax gain related to the sale of 10 million shares in Arm Holdings.

The figure compared with an income of $101m or $0.65 per share in the same quarter last year.

Without the gain, Apple would have generated earnings of $114m or $0.69 per share, still well above the First Call analysts' consensus estimate of $0.64 per share. The hardware supplier's stock price rose $2.3 to close at $55.9 as a result.

Steve Jobs, acting chief executive of Apple, said: "We are delighted to report our seventh consecutive profitable quarter. Apple is growing faster than the industry, driven by the continual success of the iMac in both the consumer and education markets."

The company has cash balances of $3.1bn and an ending inventory balance of less than one day, which it claims is better than Dell.

At the same time, Apple also announced a plan to repurchase up to $500m of its common stock because, according to Jobs, the plan was a good long-term investment. He added: "We are confident in Apple's future and believe this repurchase plan will produce long-term benefits for the company and our shareholders."