Strong iPhone X sales boosts Apple's quarterly profits 16 per cent

Muscat: Apple Inc. posted a 16 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue during the second quarter of 2018. The company announced quarterly revenues of $61.1 billion USD with international sales accounting for 65 percent of revenue.
"We're thrilled to report our best March quarter ever, with strong revenue growth in iPhone, Services and Wearables," said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement posted on the company's website.
Cook added, "Customers chose iPhone X more than any other iPhone each week in the March quarter, just as they did following its launch in the December quarter. We also grew revenue in all of our geographic segments, with over 20 per cent growth in Greater China and Japan."
Apple's Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri also stated, "Our business performed extremely well during the March quarter, as we grew earnings per share by 30 percent and generated over $15 billion in operating cash flow."
"With the greater flexibility we now have from access to our global cash, we can more efficiently invest in our US operations and work toward a more optimal capital structure. Given our confidence in Apple’s future, we are very happy to announce that our Board has approved a new $100 billion share repurchase authorisation and a 16 per cent increase in our quarterly dividend."
Apple is preparing to continue a capital return program which has seen $275 billion USD returned to shareholders, including $200 billion USD in share repurchases.