Apple’s quarterly profit rocketed to a corporate record $18bn at the end of last year on booming sales of big-screen iPhone models, especially in China.
The California tech titan also announced on Tuesday that it had sold its one billionth device powered by its iOS mobile operating system, on a day of dizzying figures — even by Apple’s high standards.
And it said that its highly anticipated Apple Watch wearable devices, unveiled last year to fanfare, are on track to begin shipping in April.
“We’d like to thank our customers for an incredible quarter which saw demand for Apple products soar to an all-time high,” declared chief executive Tim Cook.
“Demand for iPhone has been staggering, shattering our expectation.”
The record quarterly profit — on unprecedented revenue of $74.6bn — was driven by the sale of 74.5mn iPhones, well ahead of most analysts’ expectations.
As well as the larger screen iPhone 6 models, analysts credited a partnership with China Mobile as powering sales.
Sales of iPhones doubled in Greater China, its number two smartphone market, according to chief financial officer Luca Maestri.
Cook described the fevered excitement around the debut of iPhone 6 models in China as “phenomenal.”
“We are a big believer in China,” Cook said. “It is an incredible market. I think people there love Apple products.”
But it was not just China: iPhone sales leapt 44% in the US and doubled in Brazil.
Sales of iPads dipped, but Apple set new records in the quarter for sales of Macintosh computers and revenue from digital goods bought from its App Store.
Cook also said Apple is seeing rapid adoption of the Apple Pay mobile financial transactions system, which is synched to the latest generation of iPhone.
Apple Pay is limited to the US, but the company has been barraged with requests for it from businesses in other countries, according to Cook.
Apple’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of 47¢ per share to be paid on February 12.
