Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple in the company earnings call on Thursday said that Apple had set a September quarter sales record in India. The iPhone maker on Thursday announced its financial results for its fiscal 2020 fourth quarter ended September 26, 2020 with Apple posting a “record” September quarter revenue of US$64.7 billion. Apple said that its quarterly earnings per diluted share for its fourth quarter hit US$0.73 with its international sales accounting for 59% of the quarter’s revenue.
Apple Services, Mac Revenues Reach “All-Time High”
The company in its earnings release said that its Services and Mac revenues reached “new all-time high” as it registered a record September quarter revenues.
“Our Services set an all-time record of $14.5 billion, growing 16% year-over-year,” Luca Maestri, chief financial officer at Apple, said in the earnings call.”[Mac] revenue was by far an all-time record at $9 billion, up 29% over last year and $1.6 billion above our previous record, in spite of supply constraints during the quarter.”
In its services segment, Maestri said that the company registered double digit growth in App Store, cloud services, music, advertising and payment services. Maestri also said that the company “set an all-time record” in Apple Care with its other services including Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, Apple News+ and Apple Card also “contributing” to Services growth.
Further, Maestri highlighted in the earnings call that the company has seen “amazing customer response” to its new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models during the quarter.
“We grew strong double digits in each geographic segment and set all time revenue records in the Americas, and the rest of Asia Pacific, as well as September quarter records in Europe and Japan,” Maestri said.
Apple Sets September Quarter Sales Record in India
In the region wise breakdown, Maestri said that the company was able to achieve September quarter records in multiple countries including India.
“We also achieved new September quarter records in the vast majority of countries that we track, including among others, The U.S., Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Russia, India, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam,” Maestri said.
The company in late September unveiled its online store in India with users offered financing options and trade-in programs.
“We also set a September quarter record in India, thanks in part to a very strong reception to this quarter’s launch of our online store in the country,” Cook said in the earnings call.
Canalys, an independent analyst company in mid October said that Apple has “regained momentum” in India in the third quarter of 2020. The firm said that the Cupertino company had shipped 800,000 units in India in the third quarter of 2020.
“Apple is finally paying attention to India,” Rushabh Doshi, Canalys Research Director, said in a release. “It has opened a direct online store, giving it several new angles in its go-to-market strategy, such as utilizing device trade-ins to provide purchase incentives, or bundling AirPods with iPhones to make them more appealing.”
Counterpoint Research, a global industry analysis firm on Wednesday said that Apple led the premium segment in India “surpassing OnePlus even before its flagship launch.” The firm said that the premium segment covers devices priced above Rs 30,000 with Apple’s performance “driven by strong demand for its iPhone SE 2020 and the iPhone 11.”
However, Apple on Thursday highlighted that its sales in the Greater China region was down 29% in the quarter ended September 26, 2020. The company said that the dip in its sales in the Greater China region was due to the lack of new iPhones during the quarter.
“Greater China is the region that was most heavily impacted by the absence of the new iPhones during the September quarter, still we beat our internal expectations in the region, growing non-iPhone revenue strong double digits and iPhone customer demand grew mid-September,” Cook said in the earnings call.
While the Greater China region has long been a crucial market for Apple, the company in the recent quarters has seen its sales dip in the region. With India and other regions setting a new sales record, it remains to be seen whether Apple continues to remain bullish on the Greater China region or shifts its focus to regions like India.
