Apple quarterly profit rises on strong Mac, iPod sales : US Business

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc on Wednesday posted a 36 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by strong sales of its Macintosh computers and iPod media players.

The company, known for conservative financial forecasts, also gave a profit outlook for its current quarter that was below Wall Street estimates, saying it expected earnings of $1.00 per share on revenue of $7.2 billion.

Net profit for its fiscal second quarter was $1.05 billion, or $1.16 per share, compared with $770 million, or 87 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue was $7.51 billion, up 43 percent from $5.26 billion a year earlier.

Apple had been expected to show revenue of $6.95 billion, with earnings after special items of $1.07 per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company said it sold 2.29 million Mac computers, 10.6 million iPods and 1.7 million iPhones in the quarter.

(Reporting by Scott Hillis; Editing by Braden Reddall)

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