iPod sales still on the up

Apple has reported a profit rise of 41 per cent to $410m for its fiscal second quarter ended 1 April, up from $290m for the same period last year.

The increase in earnings was bolstered by a 61 per cent growth in sales of iPods, with 8,526,000 iPods shipped during the quarter. The number of Macintosh computers shipped increased four per cent to 1,112,000 on the same quarter last year.

The vendor also posted revenue of $4.36bn, an increase of 34 per cent year-on-year.

“We’re very pleased to report the second highest quarterly sales in Apple’s history," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s chief financial officer. “Looking ahead to the third quarter of fiscal 2006, we expect revenue of about $4.2 to $4.4bn."