In between its teases about a new "product transition" expected in the fall, Apple Inc.'s [APPL] conference call Monday afternoon revealed updated statistics and trends about the company's music hardware and download sales.
Chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said music-related products and services accounted for a third of the company's 38% revenue growth during the quarter that ended June 28. That's in league with past quarters, during which iPod sales, the iTunes store and other related services typically have accounted for 35% to 40% of the company's total revenues. Apple turned a $1.07 billion profit on sales of $7.46 billion during the three-month period.
Sales of iPod devices accounted for faster growth in the international market than in the U.S. The company sold just over 11 million iPods, up 12% from 9.8 million during the comparable quarter in 2007. International sales were up 15%, while U.S. sales rose 10%. Revenue growth from iPod sales was slower than total unit growth, a trend which Oppenheimer attributed to the price reduction of iPod Shuffle devices in February. The tiniest iPod devices now sell for about $49, down from about $79.
Apple claims 70% market share in the U.S. music download market, with somewhat less market share in Canada (about 60%), the U.K. and Japan (both 50%). The company's iTunes store faces increased competition from several online music retailers that do not use digital rights management on their music files, giving consumers more flexibility to do what they want with music files they've bought. Amazon.com Inc. [AMZN] is the largest DRM-free competitor, and subscription services Napster Inc. [NAPS] and RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody [RNWK] have recently opened DRM-free stores.
Apple's quarterly reports have not typically included iPhones among its music products, although the phones can play music files. Although iPhone sales have been brisk, especially since the introduction of the 3G version this month, iPhone revenues still account for a relatively small portion of the company's overall sales. Apple said it sold 717,000 iPhones during the quarter that ended in June. - Paul Bonanos
See press release from Apple
Continue reading below
