Apple sees 'record' revenue in Sept qtr in India

Tech giant Apple has said its revenues in India 'established new records' in the fourth quarter, including achieving its highest revenue from Mac sales in the country.

The iPhone maker's global revenue grew 2 per cent year-on-year to USD 64 billion for the quarter ended September 28, 2019. While the company does not disclose country-specific numbers, it said international sales accounted for 60 per cent of the quarter revenue.

"At a country level, we established new fourth quarter records in many major developed and emerging markets, including the US, Canada, Germany, France, Korea, Singapore, Brazil, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam," Apple Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said in an investor call.

He added that the company "generated an all-time revenue record for Mac in the US and in India" and more than half of the customers purchasing Macs during the quarter were 'new to Mac'.

"...the active installed base of Macs (Apple's computers) has also reached a new all-time high," he said.

In the June quarter, Apple had said the Indian market had 'bounced back' as the company logged strong double-digit growth in the country.

According to regulatory documents filed with the Registrar of Companies, Apple India saw over 70 per cent fall in its net profit in India to Rs 262.27 crore, while revenues fell 19 per cent in the 2018-19 over the last financial year.

Apple continues to place big bets on India. After the Indian government had relaxed FDI norms offering more flexibility on local sourcing norms, Apple had said it is keen on offering online and in-store experiences to Indian users that are at par with its global standards and aims to open its maiden retail store in India.

Apple, which competes with the likes of Samsung and OnePlus in the premium smartphone market, had made an entry into the top 10 smartphone brands tally in the July-September 2019 quarter due to price cuts on XR model along with good channel demand for of its newly launched iPhone 11, a report by Counterpoint had recently said.

OnePlus continued to hold onto the number one spot in the premium category in the said quarter, the report had added.