Apple continues its double-digit growth streak in India

The company sold a record 10 million iPhone units and was the top phone maker with the highest revenue in 2023.

Apple announced the financial results for the fiscal 2024's first quarter ending December 30, 2023.

The Cupertino-based company posted a healthy quarterly revenue of $119.6 billion, up 2 per cent over the previous year ($117.91 billion).

Apple's iPhone and Mac devices reportedly did considerably well compared to the iPad despite the flat global demand. The iPhone revenue was $69.7 billion, up 6 per year over year. Whereas revenue from Mac stood at $7.78 billion. The iPad revenue was $7.02 billion.

With services, Apple earned $23.12 billion in revenue in 2023. This bodes well for Apple as it begins selling the company's first-ever spatial computer Vision Pro starting in the US and later to other international markets. The Vision Pro has a lot of potential to become the next growth engine for Apple, as it can drive customers to go for Arcade gaming service to access AR/VR titles and related in-app purchases.

“Today Apple is reporting revenue growth for the December quarter fueled by iPhone sales, and an all-time revenue record in Services. We are pleased to announce that our installed base of active devices has now surpassed 2.2 billion, reaching an all-time high across all products and geographic segments. And as customers begin to experience the incredible Apple Vision Pro tomorrow, we are as committed as ever to the pursuit of groundbreaking innovation — in line with our values and on behalf of our customers,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

Though growth rate in Indian smartphone market remained flat, Apple did incredibly well with record double-digit growth in 2023.

"India grew in revenue terms, strong double digits in the December quarter and hit a quarter revenue record," Tim Cook noted. 

As per the latest Counterpoint report, Apple for the first time sold more than 10 million iPhone units and was the top phone maker with the highest revenue in 2023.

Even Mac devices are gaining traction among Indian customers, and also corporate companies are increasingly inclining towards powerful Apple computers for work.

In the earnings call, Apple's chief financial officer Luca Maestri said Sridhar Vembu's Indian IT firm Zoho, which houses 15,000 plus employees mostly prefers Apple devices.

Almost 80 percent of the company's workforce is said to use iPhones for work and nearly two-thirds of them chose Mac as their primary computer.

For the last few years, Apple has steadily grown its presence in India. To mark the 25th anniversary in the subcontinent opened its first-ever fully owned retail outlets-- Apple BKC Store and Apple Saket Store--in Mumbai and Delhi, respectively.

Both the stores are reportedly registering around Rs 22-25 crore revenue per month each. Apple has plans to expand its retail footprint in more Indian cities in the coming years.

Usually, the company used to offer iPhones shipped from China in the initial months of the launch in India. But, with growing tension between the US and communist country, it has come up with the China Plus One strategy and has steadily diversified the iPhone factory units to India and other southeast Asian countries.

In 2023, iPhone 15 models assembled in India were available from day one of the launch.

Last month, Apple rang in the new year 2024 with the opening of its second office in Bengaluru, the Silicon City of India. The 15-floor building LEED Platinum-certified building can house 1,200 employees.

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