Apple reports most profitable quarter ever

It seems that even in this economy, there’s no slowing Apple down. The company announced its quarterly earnings Monday, revealing that its net income rose 47 percent. The earnings, which were driven by record Mac computer and iPhone sales, sent Apple shares surging 7 percent in extended trading to an all-time high.

The Company posted revenue of $9.87 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.67 billion, or $1.82 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.9 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.14 billion, or $1.26 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. “We are thrilled to have sold more Macs and iPhones than in any previous quarter,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO.

And how many is “more Macs?” How about 3.05 million during the quarter, a 17 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. During this time, Apple also sold 7.4 million iPhones, a 7 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Not all Apple products saw their sales go up, however; the 10.2 million iPods sold represents an 8 percent unit decline from a year-ago.

NPR reports that, “Apple weathered the economic meltdown better than other computer companies, giving it a running start when PC sales grew in the quarter. Apple had also updated its Mac operating system and refreshed its Macbook Pro line. Apple sold 3.1 million Macs, a 19 percent rise from the same period a year ago.”

Apple tempered this news by stating the outlook for the current quarter would be well below analysts expectations, but the company’s shares still shot up $13.38, or 7.1 percent, to $203.24 in extended trading.

And there’s even better news for Apple fanboys. Included in the official press release is Jobs’ statement that, “We’ve got a very strong lineup for the holiday season and some really great new products in the pipeline for 2010.”

Some really great new products? Let the Apple rumors begin continue.

Read [Apple.com] and [NPR.org]