Apple sets revenue record in India amid overall slump; Tim Cook is pleased

Apple achieved record revenue in India during the quarter ending in March 2024, despite an overall 4 per cent decline in revenue attributed to a 10 per cent decrease in iPhone sales compared to the same period last year, according to CEO Tim Cook.

“We did grow strong by double-digit, and so we were very, very pleased with that. It was a new March quarter revenue record for us. As you know, as I’ve said before, I see it as an incredibly exciting market and it’s a major focus for us.” Cook remarked on Apple’s performance in India, during the company’s earnings call on Friday.

Other regions where Apple has set revenue records include Canada, Latin America, Spain, West Asia, and Turkey.

Cook also mentioned Apple’s efforts to expand its presence in India, including bolstering its distribution channels and developer community. He noted the rapid growth of developers in the country and emphasised Apple’s comprehensive approach spanning development, marketing, and operations.

“We have been very pleased that there is a rapidly-growing base of developers in India…Apple is working all of the entire ecosystem from developer to the market to operations, the whole thing,” he said. He further added that he could “not be more excited and enthusiastic about it.”

In 2023, Apple said that it supports over a million developer jobs in India and is looking for further expansion.

Cook also emphasised the importance of producing iPhones in India to remain competitive and linked the company’s growth in the Indian market to its operational expansion efforts.

“From a pragmatic point of view, you need to produce there to be competitive, and so, yes, the two things are linked from that point of view, but we have both operational things going on and we have go to market and initiatives going on,” the executive said.

Meanwhile, Apple’s Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri highlighted Apple’s achievement of setting a six-month revenue record in India and other emerging markets.

“We were particularly pleased with our strong momentum in emerging markets, as we set first-half revenue records in several countries and regions including Latin America, West Asia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Turkey,” Maestri said.

Apple has significantly increased iPhone assembly in India over the past few years and has expanded its retail presence with the opening of stores in Mumbai (Apple BKC) and New Delhi (Apple Saket).

Apple revenue falls

Despite the overall revenue decline from $81.8 billion during the June quarter of the previous year, Apple reported $90.75 billion in revenue for the March quarter, surpassing analyst forecasts of $90.01 billion. iPhone revenue dropped to $45.96 billion from $51.33 billion compared to the previous year’s March quarter.

The fall in iPhone sales was attributed to a decline in sales in the Greater China region, which includes Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, where sales dropped 8 per cent year-on-year due to strong competition from Huawei, according to analysts.

Apple reported net income of $23.64 billion, or $1.53 per share, down 2 per cent from $24.16 billion, or $1.52 per share, in the year-ago period, CNBC reported.

Apple announces shares buyback

Apple announced on Friday that its board had authorised $110 billion in share repurchases, a 22 per cent increase over last year’s $90 billion authorisation. It’s the largest buyback in history, ahead of Apple’s previous repurchases, according to CNBC. The stock buyback news caused Apple’s shares to skyrocket by over 6 per cent.

Apple item sales in March quarter

Mac sales were up 4 per cent to $7.45 billion, but they are still below the segment’s high-water mark set in 2022. Cook said sales were driven by the company’s new MacBook Air models which were released with an upgraded M3 chip in March, CNBC said.  

Other Products, which is how Apple reports sales of its Apple Watch and AirPods headphones were down 10 per cent year over year to $7.9 billion. 

During the quarter, Apple unveiled its first significant addition to its product lineup in years, the Vision Pro virtual reality headset. However, it’s expected that the $3,500 device will have relatively low sales volumes, particularly when compared to Apple’s flagship product offerings.

First Published: May 03 2024 | 9:58 AM IST