[Aju News DB ]
Apple reported its worst business performance for 13 years in the first quarter of this year, posting a 12.7 percent drop in sales mainly due to sluggish iPhone sales around the world. This marked the first drop since 2003.
Apple's first-quarter sales fell to 50.6 billion US dollars from $58 billion a year earlier.
The tech giant reported the shipment of about 50 million iPhones over the same period, down from 61 million a year ago. Apple has relied heavily on iPhone sales to boost its growth in the last ten years. iPhone now accounts about two-thirds of the company's total sales.
Apple saw a decline in sales of the iPhone SE, launched earlier this year. Normally, Apple releases only one size phone each year. The iPhone SE has the same four-inch exterior as Apple's old model, iPhone 5S, but Apple released it ahead of the scheduled release of the iPhone 7 later this year, sparking market criticism of being not price-worthy.
Apple's guidance suggests iPhone sales will fall further $41~43 billion in the next quarter. Its sales in the second quarter of 2015 stood at $49.6 billion.
Many analysts said consumers are now changing smartphones less frequently than before, leading to a decline in iPhone sales. Also, there are alternatives such as Samsung, LG, and Huawei for consumers to choose. But some experts predict iPhone sales will rebound in September when the iPhone 7 series hit the market.
Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
