Apple has continued to defy the gloomy economic picture with another strong financial quarter.

The company said that its latest results (PDF) are the most successful it has had outside the holiday season. Profits reached $1.23bn (£753m) from $1.07bn (£655m) in the previous quarter.

Rising Macintosh sales led the way with growth of four per cent over the quarter and a total of 2.6 million systems sold.

Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer noted in a conference call with analysts that the rise in Mac sales bucked an overall downturn in the PC market.

"We are very proud of this result, particularly given the economic climate around us," he said. "It was an extremely busy quarter for new product introductions, and customers have responded enthusiastically."

Apple also logged sharp growth in iPhone sales, estimating that it sold some 5.2 million handsets, aided in large part by the release of the new iPhone 3GS model and iPhone 3.0 software update.

Not all of Apple's units fared so well, however. The company reported a drop in iPod sales which Oppenheimer dismissed as part of a natural user progression from standalone media players to multi-use handhelds such as the iPod Touch and iPhone.