Apple Computer last night reported a quarterly profit that quadrupled, but sales of its market-leading iPod digital music player fell short of many analyst estimates, sending shares down by 10 per cent.
Apple sold 6.5 million iPods in the quarter, more than triple a year ago, but some analysts targeted sales of 8 million.
"Expectations for Apple's results were pretty high," said Jim Fisher, a fund manager at Univest Wealth Management, who owns Apple shares. "Revenue came a bit lower than expected...."
Still, the company posted record revenues and net profits for its fourth quarter and the full year. Apple has now sold more than 28 million iPods since their introduction in 2001.
"We're thrilled to have concluded the best year in Apple's history," Chief Executive Steve Jobs said. The earnings report also comes ahead of a Wednesday Apple announcement.
An iPod that plays video is widely expected to be unveiled. Apple net income for the fiscal fourth quarter ended September 24th rose to $430 million, or 50 cents a share, from $106 million, or 13 cents a share, a year ago. Earnings included 12 cents per share in tax-related benefits.
Analysts had expected a net profit of 36 cents a share, on average. Revenue rose 56 percent to $3.68 billion, shy of analyst expectations of $3.74 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Apple has about a 75 per cent share of the entire digital music player market, according to market research firm NPD Group.
Last month, it unveiled its credit-card sized iPod nano, which replaced the iPod mini, then the best-selling iPod version.