Apple Profits Up 15%, iPhone Sales Up 123%

Add Apple to the list of manufacturers that appear immune to the recession.

The iPhone, iPod and Mac computer maker reports a 15 percent gain in its fiscal Q2 2009 versus the same period last year. Apple reports $1.21 billion in profits for the quarter.

In a way, Apple is bucking the trend.

Amid the recession, a pattern seems to be developing where high-end electronics manufacturers maintain profitability — Crestron and Colorado vNet, two high-end control product makers, reported Dec. 2008 as their best month ever in terms of product shipments.

Mainstream electronics manufacturers seem to be struggling:

• Bose cut 10 percent of its workforce
• Microsoft laid off 5 percent
• LG Electronics reported an operating loss of $228 million for fiscal Q4
• Sony’s saw its largest operating loss ever

No company is more mainstream than Apple these days, so what gives?

Apple’s knack for finding products that resonate with consumers seems to be the difference. Quarterly iPhone unit sales grew 123 percent over the same period last year with 3.79 million. Apple sold 11.01 million iPods during the quarter, marking 3 percent growth.

Although Apple saw a 3 percent decline in Mac computer sales, CFO Peter Oppenheimer says Apple’s finances are “very robust, with almost $29 billion in cash and marketable securities on our balance sheet. Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about $7.7 billion to $7.9 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $.95 to $1.00.”