Apple quarterly results exceed expectations

San Francisco, April 25 (IANS) Apple has released quarterly sales and earnings results that surpassed analysts' expectations.

In its fiscal 2012 second quarter ending March 31, the company raked $39.2 billion in revenue, an increase of nearly 59 percent from $24.7 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Net profit was $11.6 billion or $12.3 per share, nearly doubled when compared with numbers in the year-ago quarter of $6 billion or $6.4 per share, Xinhua reported.

Analysts had expected Apple to report earnings of $10.04 per share on revenue of $36.81 billion, according to a consensus estimate by Thomson Reuters.

The company benefited from consumers' strong demands for its iPhone and iPad products.

Apple sold 35.1 million iPhones and 11.8 million iPads during the quarter, representing unit growth of 88 percent and 151 percent year on year, respectively.

"We're thrilled with sales of over 35 million iPhones and almost 12 million iPads in the March quarter," Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive officer, said in a statement Tuesday.

"The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you' re going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver," he added.

Apple's results are being closely watched by the market as there were concerns on whether the company could keep the momentum to deliver better-than-expected numbers to satisfy investors.

Apple's shares Tuesday rose more than 6 percent in after-hours trading following the earnings announcement.