Apple share price rises by 2pc as third-quarter earnings beat expectations

Shares in Apple rose by two per cent in after-hours trading on Monday, as investors were encouraged by the consumer electronics giant's higher-than-expected earnings for the third quarter. 

 

For the three months to 30 September, earnings were $8.47bn (£5.24bn). This beat analysts' expectations and represented a 13 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2013.

 

Apple attributed the strong performance to sales of its iPhones, and in particular its iPhone 6. The new model had been on sale for ten days before the quartr came to an end. Total iPhone sales came to 39.3m. 

 

The iPad did not perform so well, however – 12.3m sold, which was a decrease from 13.1m a year earlier. 

 

Tim Cook, chief executive, said in a statement: "Our fiscal 2014 was one for the record books, including the biggest iPhone launch ever with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus." He said that he expected the positive results to continue during the next quarter, partly because it is the holiday season. 

 

 

The release of Apple's third quarter earnings coincided with the launch of its digital payment system, Apple Pay, at a number of retailers including supermarket Whole Foods and pharmacy Walgreens.

 

With the new technology, users can access stored credit information and pay for items by scanning their fingerprint with an iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 plus. 

 

The service is currently only available on the newest iPhone models, and can noly be used  in the retailers that have signed up to the service. Several large ones, such as Wal-Mart, have yet to do so.