\tApple talked up growth in its iPad and wearables segments in its latest financials, shifting focus away from iPhone revenue which continued to slide despite aggressive implementation of trade-in offers and other incentives.<\/p>\n
CEO Tim Cook (pictured) said Apple recorded its strongest iPad growth in six years in its fiscal Q2 (the three months to 30 March): revenue from the tablets jumped nearly 22 per cent year-on-year from $4 billion to $4.9 billion. CFO Luca Maestri noted more than half of customers purchasing an iPad were new to the device, with the iPad Pro a key driver of sales.<\/p>\n
Cook said wearables similarly had a \u201cblockbuster quarter,\u201d posting nearly 50 per cent growth. Maestri added 75 per cent of Apple Watch sales were made to customers who never owned one before.<\/p>\n
All told, revenue in the Wearables, Home and Accessories segment grew 30 per cent year-on-year to $5.1 billion. Services also returned strong results for the company, with revenue up 16 per cent to $11.5 billion.<\/p>\n
Total revenue of $58 billion, however, was down 5 per cent year-on-year and net income of $11.6 billion dropped from $13.8 billion in the prior-year period.<\/p>\n
iPhone recovery
\nSales of the company\u2019s iPhone continued to be its primary financial driver, though revenue was down 17 per cent to $31.1 billion.<\/p>\n
Cook insisted the worst is behind the company, pointing to November and December as the lowest point for iPhone sales and noting that trade-in programmes implemented in several countries began to bear fruit toward the close of the recent quarter. He said trade-in volumes for the March quarter were four-times what they were in fiscal Q2 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly what we\u2019ve learned here, and it\u2019s not a surprise really, is that many, many people do want to trade in their current phone. From a customer point of view the trade-in looks like a subsidy, and so it is a way to offset device cost.”<\/p>\n
China
\nThough year-on-year revenue in Greater China declined to $10.2 billion from $13 billion in fiscal Q2 2018, Cook said the company remains \u201cpositive about our trajectory\u201d and believes \u201cstrongly in our long term opportunity\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n
The CEO said Apple’s performance improved sequentially, which he attributed to price adjustments, trade-in schemes, stimulus programmes enacted by the Chinese government, and improved trade dialogue between China and the US, which positively impacted consumer confidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Apple talked up growth in its iPad and wearables segments in its latest financials, shifting …<\/p>\n
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