Apple's profit jumps 15% on iPhone sales

Despite the global economic downturn, Apple Inc. reported a 15 per cent jump in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, as sales of iPhones soared above five million.

Earnings rose to $1.23 billion, or $1.35 per share, up from $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per share, for the same period last year. All figures are in U.S. dollars.

Apple saw revenue of $8.34 billion, up almost 12 per cent from $7.46 billion a year ago.

"In a better economy, I think we would have sold even more," Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer told the Associated Press.

The results beat the average forecast of Wall Street analysts, who were expecting Apple to earn $1.17 per share on revenue of $8.2 billion.

Apple said iPhone sales increased more than sevenfold to 5.2 million, thanks to a newly released version of the device. 

Sales of Macintosh computers also rose by four per cent to 2.6 million. The increase comes despites studies that suggest the demand for PCs worldwide is shrinking.

The only weak spot was the iPod.

The company sold 10.2 million of the devices, down seven per cent from the same quarter last year. However, Oppenheimer said such declines can be expected as Apple "cannibalizes" its own iPod sales by offering similar features on its iPhone.