Apple logs record $10-bn sales; beats recession

Apple Inc rose as much as 6.8% in Nasdaq trading as holiday demand beat estimates last quarter, helping allay concerns the recession and the absence of Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs will stymie growth.

Overseas demand for iPod players, Macintosh computers and iPhones offset a US slowdown and pushed quarterly sales past $10 bn for the first time, Apple said. Analysts had expected profit to drop for the first time in five years.

The cachet of Apple’s products helped the company maintain orders and command premium prices, even as the economy shrank, job losses swelled and consumer lending dried up. By updating models and pushing into new countries, Apple was able to shrug off the worst holiday shopping season in four decades. The company also is coping with the temporary loss of its CEO, who is giving up his day-to-day role until June to take a medical leave.

“It shows that people, even in a downturn, like Apple products and want to buy them,” said Andy Hargreaves, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon. He’s one of 25 analysts tracked by Bloomberg who recommend buying the shares.

First-quarter net income rose 1.5% to $1.61 bn, or $1.78 a share, from $1.58 bn, or $1.76, a year earlier, Apple said. Sales rose 5.8% to $10.2 bn in the period ended December 27. Analysts in a Bloomberg survey estimated profit of $1.39 a share and sales of $9.76 bn.

Analysts had predicted a drop in profit after sales at US retailers fell more than twice as much as forecast in December, the sixth straight month of declines. The US accounts for more than half of Apple’s revenue.

Agencies