Apple posts strong Q4 result: India revenue doubled year-over-year

Cupertino based Tech Giant Apple has posted quarterly revenue of $52.6 billion, an increase of 12 percent from the year-ago quarter, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.07, up 24 percent, while international sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter's revenue.

"We're happy to report a very strong finish to a great fiscal 2017, with record fourth-quarter revenue, year-over-year growth for all our product categories, and our best quarter ever for Services," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO.

He said "With fantastic new products including iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, Apple Watch Series 3, and Apple TV 4K joining our product lineup, we're looking forward to a great holiday season, and with the launch of iPhone X getting underway right now, we couldn't be more excited as we begin to deliver our vision for the future with this stunning device."

Cook also said that the company's India revenue doubled year-over-year.

Apple sold 46.7 million iPhones in Q4, which is three percent up YoY.

"Apple's year-over-year revenue growth rate accelerated for the fourth consecutive quarter and drove EPS growth of 24 percent in the September quarter," said Luca Maestri, Apple's CFO. "We also generated strong operating cash flow of $15.7 billion and returned $11 billion to investors through our capital return program."

In fact research firm Canalys, Apple's shipments grew 40 percent from 8 million in Q3 2016 to about 11 million this quarter, this makes it Apple's best performance in China in the last eight quarters, where its growth has slowed considerably since the launch of the iPhone 6S. The mix of the iPhone 8 series at launch is also higher than the corresponding mix of the iPhone 7 series at launch last year. However, despite launching three new devices this year, Apple's success in China could be short-lived.

"Apple's growth this quarter is only temporary. The high sell-in caters to the pent-up demand for iPhone upgrades in the absence of the iPhone X. Price cuts on earlier models after announcing the iPhone 8 have also helped. However, Apple is unlikely to sustain this growth in Q4," said Canalys Research Analyst Mo Jia.