Mr Steve Jobs's salary of $1 a year may seem a trifle modest.

But Apple Computer said yesterday that it was rewarding its charismatic chief executive for the dramatic turnaround in the company's fortunes - as well as first-quarter results which exceeded expectations - with options to buy 10 million shares and by giving him a $40 million (€39.6 million) Gulfstream V jet.

"We hope it encourages him to stick around for another couple of years," said Apple board member Mr Ed Woolard of the compensation package. "Apple's market cap has risen from less than $2 billion to over $16 billion under Steve's leadership. "It's one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in corporate history."

To the delight of Apple enthusiasts, Mr Jobs recently took the term "interim" out of his title after revitalising the company with the launch of the hugely successful iMac range.

A co-founder of Apple, he returned to the helm in 1997 amid chronic losses.

Results released yesterday showed that the company posted a net profit of $183 million, or $1.03 per diluted share, in the first quarter.

This compares to a net profit of $152 million for the same quarter last year.

Revenues soared 37 per cent to $2.34 billion from a year ago, while gross margins were 25.9 per cent, down from 28.2 per cent for the first quarter last year.

Apple Ireland has also announced that its Dublin-based sales and marketing operation, Apple Computer Sales Ireland, is to move next month to a new centre at the company's European manufacturing headquarters at Holyhill in Cork.

The company claims the move will strengthen Apple's position in the personal computer market.