Apple revenue up 25 pct to 9.87 bn

8220;The big story is the renewed ascendancy of the Mac,8221; said Barry Jaruzelski,a partner at consulting firm Booz amp; Co.

8220;The only surprise would be when Apple doesn8217;t surprise on earnings 8230;. The Mac and iPhone continue to grow and take share,and they8217;re taking share with premium pricing.8221;

IPhone sales had been expected to steal the limelight. Yet unit sales rose 7 per cent to 7.4 million,just shy of Wall Street expectations of 7.5 million units.

But it was the company8217;s venerable Mac warhorse,which has steadily expanded market share for years,that starred. The stellar shipment numbers came just days before rival Microsoft Corp was set to unveil its latest version of Windows operating system,to be followed a day later by its own quarterly results.

Mac sales hit 3.05 million in the September quarter,above average estimate for about 2.8 million. Sales of laptop units alone leapt 35 per cent,at a time the global PC market is stagnant.

8220;These are huge numbers tonight. Apple is probably the best growth story in tech,maybe one of the best growth stocks in the market. I bet this stock can go to 250 in six to nine months,8221; said Jane Snorek,analyst at First American Funds.

8220;This makes me think Apple will have a great Christmas.8221;

Apple8217;s fiscal fourth quarter marked the return of Chief Executive Steve Jobs to his offices at 1 Infinite Loop,Cupertino,California. The master showman had a liver transplant while on a six-month leave of absence.

In his absence,Apple showed resilience to the slump in consumer spending that pummeled rivals,such as BlackBerry maker Research in Motion8217;s and Nokia.

8220;The number of Macs sold shows that Windows 7 has not been a threat to the Apple franchise,8221; said Shannon Cross of Cross Research. 8220;These are phenomenal results.8221;

OUTSIZED HOPES,BLOCKBUSTER RESULTS

According to industry tracker IDC,Apple holds 9.4 per cent of the US PC market.

Net profit rose to 1.67 billion,or 1.82 a share,in the quarter ended September 26,from 1.14 billion,or 1.26 a share,in the year-earlier period. Analysts were expecting a profit of 1.42 a share,according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 25 per cent to 9.87 billion,ahead of the average Wall Street estimate of 9.2 billion. For a look at how major technology companies have performed this earnings season,click here: here

Shares of Apple jumped 7.5 per cent to above 204 in extended trading. It had closed at 189.86 on Nasdaq. The stock8217;s record intraday high was 202.96 on December 27,2007.

Prior to the results,some analysts said expectations for Apple might be too high after the stock doubled in value this year,lifting it to about 32 times forward earnings versus RIM8217;s and Nokia8217;s 16. But after Apple8217;s results came on Monday,some saw its stock rising to 250 8212; implying an even loftier 35 times forward earnings.

Looking ahead,Apple said demand outstripped supply for much of the quarter in most of the countries where it sells the iPhone 3G S 8212; its newest model 8212; before a balance was struck in late September and early October. The company is rolling out the phone to China 8212; the world8217;s top cellular market 8212; this quarter.

8220;We were very surprised by the demand,8221; admitted Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook.

The company also hinted at lower-cost products yet to come. It forecast gross margins falling to 34 per cent in the fourth quarter.

8220;For the new products that we have and will announce,we are delivering greater value to our customers,and these products have lower gross margins than their predecessors,8221; Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said.

Apple posted a gross margin of 36.6 per cent,up from 34.7 per cent a year ago. Wall Street had been expecting a margin of 35.5 per cent.

Stronger margins came from higher-than-anticipated sales of its 8220;Snow Leopard8221; operating system for Mac computers,and component cost increases that were lower-than-expected.

Apple8217;s outlook is typically conservative,though its revenue forecast this quarter was not far off from Wall Street averages. Apple forecast current-quarter earnings of 1.70 to 1.78 a share on revenue of 11.3 billion to 11.6 billion,versus the Street8217;s 1.91 a share on revenue of 11.4 billion.

8220;While we knew they were gaining share in those categories 8212; PCs and phones 8212; it8217;s still surprising to see this degree of outperformance,8221; said Daniel Ernst,an analyst with Hudson Square Research.