Apple has raised its dividend and started a new share buyback programme after reporting another quarter of falling earnings. Revenues fell 5 percent to USD 58 billion in its fiscal second quarter to March, in line with the company’s outlook, and earnings were down 10 percent to USD 2.46 per share.
After operating cash flow of USD 11.2 billion in the quarter, Apple said it would raise its quarterly dividend 5 percent to USD 0.77 per share. In addition, it’s starting a programme to buy back up to USD 75 billion of its own shares.
The decline in quarterly sales was again due to the Chinese market. In the Greater China region, Apple’s quarterly revenues were down 21.5 percent year-on-year to USD 10.2 billion. Revenues in the Americas were slightly higher, while Europe and the rest of the world showed slightly lower revenues.
iPhone sales lower, services higher
By product category, iPhone sales were down 17.3 percent to USD 31.1 billion, and Mac sales also fell 4.6 percent to USD 5.5 billion. The iPad revenues rose 21.6 percent to USD 4.9 billion, helped by the recent update of the range, and wearables, home and accessories products increased 30 percent to USD 5.1 billion. Services also continued solid growth, up 16.2 percent to USD 11.45 billion.
For its fiscal third quarter to June, Apple forecast revenues of USD 52.5-54.5 billion, little changed from USD 53.3 billion reported in the year-earlier period.
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telecompaper
