Apple profits up a third as iPhone delivers in China
Apple’s sale of 61.1 million iPhones in the first quarter of 2015 drove international profits up by a third year on year.
The Californian tech giant announced $13.6bn (£8.9bn) in profit after its revenue was boosted by 27 per cent to $58bn.
Chinese sales proved to be the catalyst to the growth, with sales increasing 71 per cent to $16.8bn across the country.
Historically, 2014 marked the first time Chinese iPhone sales outpaced those in the US, partly due to the latter's mobile saturation in addition to growth in China.
Apple chief executive Tim Cook, said: “We are thrilled by the continued strength of iPhone, Mac and the App Store, which drove our best March quarter results ever.
“We’re seeing a higher rate of people switching to iPhone than we’ve experienced in previous cycles, and we’re off to an exciting start to the June quarter with the launch of Apple Watch.”
The company also admitted that it has $195bn stockpiled - money which could be invested in future research and development in addition to vital acquisitions.