For the first time in ten years, Apple’s revenue fell in the last quarter of 2018 due to lower-than-expected sales of iPhones, especially in the large Chinese market, and the strong dollar that makes US exports difficult.
This is the first time that Apple’s smartphone market has shrunk during the holidays. That is expected to bring a reduction in the prices of some of its mobile phones, something that has only happened once in the 12-year history of iPhones, in 2007, shortly after their “debut”.
In the last quarter of 2018, the US company had total revenues of $ 84.3 billion, 4.5% less than in the last quarter of 2017, while its profit margins, which reached 19, were marginally reduced (less than 1%). $ 7 billion.
Its revenue from the Chinese and Taiwanese markets was $ 13.17 billion, almost $ 5 billion less than a year ago (down more than 25%), and in particular international sales, revenue iPhones were down 15%. Apple’s revenue in Europe fell by around 3%.
The bad financial news comes after the company predicted on January 3 that its sales will be reduced this year due to China’s large economic slowdown.
It was Apple’s first warning since the iPhone was released – a product that made it one of the most valuable companies in history. The announcement was followed by a $ 55 billion drop in value, leading to a temporary halt in its stock trading and shaking investors internationally as analysts began to wonder what might happen to other companies affected by the course of the Chinese economy.
Apple’s stock has recovered since early January but remains about 266 billion less than a record $ 1 trillion last year in August (the first company to do so).
However, its shares moved upwards after the announcement of the financial results of the last quarter of 2018, as these were in line with the expectations of analysts and investors, who feared the worst.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has hinted that, in order to boost iPhones sales, prices will fall in some countries, without specifying which ones. As she said, the strong dollar, which makes the prices of its products comparatively much more expensive than those of its competitors, is an obstacle to its sales, especially in the markets of emerging economies, reports APE-MPE.
For example, in Turkey, due to the depreciation of the Turkish lira by 33% against the dollar, iPhone sales in 2018 decreased by $ 700 million compared to 2017. Similar problems due to the exchange rate of the dollar the company faces in China, Brazil, India, Russia, etc.
However, the downward trend in sales of smartphones is a broader phenomenon, as they showed a decrease of about 5% worldwide in 2018, according to the analytics company Canalys.
On the other hand, according to Tim Cook, sales of iPad tablets and Mac computers, as well as the services provided by the company (eg Apple Pay) remained strong, according to the BBC, Reuters and the Guardian.
Source: News Beast
