Apple Hits Record Revenue In 'Incredibly Exciting' India Market

Apple Inc. hit a fresh record revenue in India in the quarter ended September, and the country remains an "incredibly exciting" market, according to Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook.

Apple posted a revenue of $89.5 billion, down 1% year-on-year for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. While the company doesn't give out India-specific revenue numbers alongside its earnings, Cook said an "all-time record" was achieved in India.

"We grew very strong double-digits (in India). It's an incredibly exciting market for us and a major focus of ours. We have a low share in a large market, and so it would seem there's a lot of headroom there," Cook said in an earnings call.

He said that India is an "extraordinary market", with a lot of people moving into the middle class. "We put two retail stores there. They're doing better than we anticipated. It's still early going, but they're off to a good start, and I couldn't be happier with how things are going at the moment," he said.

Cook's comments are in line with data from Counterpoint Research, which said the company posted its highest ever quarterly smartphone shipment figure in India.

Apple's shipments grew 34% year-on-year and crossed 25 lakh in India for the July-September quarter of the calendar year 2023, Counterpoint's Monthly India Smartphone Tracker stated.

"Premiumisation has started in the world’s second-largest smartphone market, and Apple has again got the timing right to benefit from this trend through its devices and financing offers," said Shubham Singh, research analyst at Counterpoint.

BQ Prime had earlier reported that Apple's India entity posted a nearly 50% spike in revenue for FY23, taking its topline to about Rs 50,000 crore, while reporting a large growth in profit as well.

It posted revenue of Rs 49,321.8 crore for FY23, up from Rs 33,381.3 crore in the previous fiscal. Profit also rose 76.4% year-on-year to Rs 2,229.6 crore in the period under review, according to data sourced from Tofler.

Apple's India optimism is in contrast to China, where its performance for the quarter was pulled by slower Mac and iPad sales. For Greater China, Apple reported a 2% drop in revenue, steeper than the overall 1% it reported.

Cook, however, said that foreign exchange impact was nearly 6%. "So we grew in constant currency. And underneath that, if you look at the different categories, iPhone actually set a September quarter record in mainland China. And what pulled down the performance was a combination, largely of Mac and iPad," he said.