iMac and G3 at the core of Apple profit

Apple posted a 69 per cent increase in net profit to $93 million - or 60 cents per diluted share - making this the company's sixth consecutive quarter of profit.

Sales of the iMac and Power Macintosh G3 drove unit growth of 27 per cent year-on-year during the second quarter ended 27 March, while the manufacturer's overall revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter showed a nine per cent improvement from the same period in 1998.

Although revenue was down 11 per cent on Apple's fiscal first quarter, the results exceeded the expectations of First Call analysts who had predicted a net profit of 57 cents per share. A one-time gain resulting from the sale of two million shares of ARM Holdings added a further $42 million to Apple's earnings for the quarter.

Fred Anderson, chief financial officer of Apple, said in a statement: 'Strong demand for the iMac and the Power Macintosh G3 computers, combined with continued operational efficiency and asset management improvements, resulted in positive cash flow from operations of $269 million.

'Apple now has more than $2.9 billion in cash and short-term investments,' he added.

Steve Jobs, acting chief executive of Apple, said: 'Demand for the iMac exceeded our most optimistic forecasts.'

Quarterly turnover figures were not provided for regional geographies, but an Apple report claimed EMEA increased its revenue 26 per cent year-on-year and contributed 25 per cent to global unit sales. However, the region showed a decline of 20 per cent in revenue from fiscal first quarter.