Apple Inc: The rise and rise of profits, phone sales double

Apple profits soared 69% in the first quarter of 2010 – and the new iPad hasn't yet been taken into account. The company this morning reported pre-tax profits of $4bn (£2.6bn) compared with $2.4bn in the same period last year. Sales, mainly thanks to the continued success of the iPhone, rose $3.5bn to £15.5bn. Phone sales doubled to 8.7m in the first quarter. The second quarter will be boosted yet again by the US launch of the iPad, with over one million units sold in the first 28 days, and the added bonus of international sales starting on May 28. Already Apple have sold out of the first batch of iPads in the UK, on pre-order, and deliveries have now been put back to June 7. In the third quarter of 2010 the new fourth-generation iPhone – the much leaked lost-then-found iPhone – will provide another major fillip. It looks like Apple is on a roll.