Apple’s shares went up by $14.99 or 7.9% to $204.85 in extended training yesterday as back-to-school orders for the iPod, iPhone and Macintosh computer led to the company making higher than expected fourth-quarter profits and total revenue. This value reached beat the intraday record value of $202.96 which was set way back in 2007.
The demand of Apple’s products has grown manifold in the market and Apple’s shares at the moment are at a level which was last seen when the company introduced the iPhone into the market. The emergence of the iPhone as a hit product was the opening up of a third major business area for Apple.
Even though Apple’s growth was restricted during the recession, the company’s earnings have continuously exceeded the estimates made by expert analysts. Sales were rejuvenated earlier this year as a newer faster iPhone called the 3GS hit the markets.
To add momentum to the sales, CEO Steve Jobs started a back-to-school Mac promotion, slashed iPod prices and introduced new models. This led to the sale of 7.4 million iPhones, 3.1 million Macs and 10.2 million iPods in the last quarter.
The net-income for the fourth quarter stood at $1.67 billion or $1.82 per share, which shows a rise of 47 percent. Sales were up by 25 percent, with the figure during this quarter standing at $9.87 billion. The gross margin for Apple was 36.6 percent this year compared to the 34.7 percent last year.
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