UK firms are at the core of Apple profits
STRONG sales of Apple’s iPhone have given a timely boost to some of the UK’s high-tech companies that develop components inside the must-have mobile phone.
Apple’s sales grew 12 per cent in the third quarter after it sold 5.2 million iPhones.
Sales are expected to grow even faster after last month’s launch of the 3G version. Interest in the new model is so strong Apple is struggling to cope with demand.
Singer Capital Markets analyst Dan Ridsdale said the figures were positive for companies including Imagination Technologies, ARM and IQE and, to a lesser extent, Wolfson and CSR.
He added robust 3G demand was good news for Imagination as its royalty rate is estimated to be four times higher than it was for previous iPhones.
The one blot on the landscape was iPod sales, down 7 per cent to 10.2 million due to the success of the iPhone, which has similar functions.
Apple’s strong results put figures from Yahoo! into the shade. Yahoo! – rumoured to be thrashing out a partnership with Microsoft – said revenue fell 13 per cent in the quarter, while profit fell 25 per cent.