Apple reported financial results for its fiscal 2014 first quarter ended December 28, 2013. The company posted record quarterly revenue of $57.6 billion and quarterly net profit of $13.1 billion, or $14.50 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $54.5 billion and net profit of $13.1 billion, or $13.81 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 37.9 percent compared to 38.6 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 63 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

Apple sold 51 million iPhones, an all-time quarterly record, compared to 47.8 million in the year-ago quarter. The company also sold 26 million iPads during the quarter, also an all-time quarterly record, compared to 22.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 4.8 million Macs, compared to 4.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

Tim Cook (CEO, Apple): We love having the most satisfied, loyal and engaged customers, and are continuing to invest heavily in our future to make their experiences with our products and services even better.

Apple has declared a cash dividend of $3.05 per share of the company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on February 13, 2014, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 10, 2014.

Apple generated $22.7 billion in cash flow from operations and returned an additional $7.7 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the December quarter, bringing cumulative payments under its capital return program to over $43 billion. 

Apple is providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2014 second quarter:

• revenue between $42 billion and $44 billion
• gross margin between 37 percent and 38 percent
• operating expenses between $4.3 billion and $4.4 billion
• other income/(expense) of $200 million
• tax rate of 26.2 percent

[Image courtesy: Apple]