Apple logs record $46bn revenues as firm shifts 37 million iPhone devices

Apple has reported yet another record financial quarter on the back of soaring sales for its iPhone and iPad devices as the firm goes from strength to strength.

The company logged revenues of $46.33bn for its first financial quarter of 2012, leading to $13.06bn in profits. By comparison, Apple netted $26.74bn in revenues and $6bn in profits over the same period in 2010.

Leading the pack was the iPhone of which the firm sold more than 37 million units in the quarter, up 128 per cent from the same period last year. Much of the jump was credited to the release of the iPhone 4S.

"We would attribute it to breathtaking customer reception toward the iPhone 4S and iOS 5," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook.

"Customers are absolutely loving this product."

Meanwhile the firm sold 15.43 million iPads during the quarter, a 111 per cent increase on the same quarter last year.

Cook added that he was confident the launch of new products, expected to be the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, would help continue the firm's success.

"Apple's momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline," he added.

Apple's record iPhone numbers come as the company faces stiff competition from a growing range of Android handsets but the iOS platform continues to hold its own in terms of market share.

Gartner research vice president Carolina Milanesi said that Android and other platforms still have work to do if they wish to keep pace with Apple.

"There is still room for other operating systems, especially if you see how much strong iPhone sales at Verizon impacted their financials," the analyst told V3.

"But in order for other operating systems to be successful there is a lot that needs to come together, from vendors focusing on the overall ecosystem, not just hardware, to operators that start differentiating their data plans to reflect the real cost of the hardware."

The company also credited its record numbers in part to a strong international performance. Apple said 58 per cent of its revenues came from overseas sales, with emerging markets such as China helping to drive revenues.

With the holiday season wrapped up, Apple expects sales to cool off slightly in the next financial quarter.

The company also cited the flooding in Thailand with driving up the cost of hard drive units, though no shortage of components is expected.