China has great potential for Apple

Apple Inc's sales in China accounted for about 20 percent of the company's $39.2 billion earnings in the fiscal Q2, a sharp increase compared to 4.5 percent in the 2011 fiscal year, China News reported on Thursday, citing Apple's quarterly fiscal report.

Apple's revenue in China during the most recent two fiscal quarters totaled $12.4 billion, rivaling its annual performance of $13.3 billion last year. iPhone sales in China quintupled in the fiscal Q2.

Apple Inc has reported earnings of $11.6 billion in net profits for the second fiscal quarter ended March 31, up 93 percent year-on-year. It earned $12.3 per share on sales in the same period.

The profits were jacked up mainly by its eye-catching iPhone and iPad, which have been much-favored in the global market.

iPhones sold globally in the fiscal Q2 hit a high of 35.1 million sets, up 88 percent year-on-year, while iPad sales increased by 151 percent to hit 11.8 million. Macbook sales were relatively weak at 4 million, up 7 percentage points year-on-year. At the same time, iPod sales slipped by 15 percent to 7.7 million.

Despite Apple's out-performing what industry analysts had expected, which largely dispelled their previous misgivings about the company's outlook, Wall Street analysts hold that Apple will have to pin its hopes on the future performance in China to shatter its development bottleneck.

Apple is fairly prudent on its earnings prospect for the next fiscal quarter, which is expected to reap $34 billion – lower than the estimated $37.4 billion by analysts - as the sluggish global economy prolongs while the US dollar gains strength.