Apple’s annual report reveals glowing success

By Barb Dybwad

Apple filed its annual report today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The ultra-mini summary goes something like this: Apple is hot!

For those folks who care about trifles such as facts and figures, here ya go:

  • During fiscal 2004, net sales increased 33% or US$2.1 billion from fiscal 2003.
  • Net sales of Macintosh systems increased $432 million or 10% during fiscal 2004 compared to 2003 while net sales
    per Macintosh unit sold remained relatively flat on a year-over-year basis.
  • Apple says these increases in net sales and unit sales were a result of strong demand for all of the company's
    Macintosh systems, except for the iMac.
  • Apple's PowerBook and iBook lines produced the strongest revenue and unit growth during fiscal 2004 compared to
    2003 — approximately 26% and 33%, respectively. Unit sales of portable systems accounted for 51% of all Macintosh
    systems sold during fiscal 2004 compared to 42% during 2003. Apple believes that these results "reflect an overall
    trend in the industry towards portable systems."
  • Power Macintosh systems yielded positive results in fiscal 2004, including a 15% and 6% increase in net sales and
    unit sales, respectively. Apple says this is due primarily to the introduction of the Power Mac G5, but notes that
    sales were constrained in the second half of 2004 as a result of manufacturing problems at IBM, which supplies the
    PowerPC G5 processor.
  • Net sales of iPods rose $961 million or 279% during fiscal 2004 compared to 2003. Unit sales of iPods totaled 4.4
    million in fiscal 2004, which represents an increase of 370% from the 939,000 iPod units sold in fiscal 2003. Apple
    says strong demand for the iPods during fiscal 2004 was driven by enhancements to the iPod, the introduction of the
    iPod mini, increased expansion of the company's iPod distribution network, and continued success of the iTunes Music
    Store. Since the introduction of the iPod product line in fiscal 2002, Apple has sold approximately 5.7 million
    iPods.
  • Apple's retail segment's net sales grew 91% to $1.2 billion during fiscal 2004 compared to 2003, which Apple
    attributes to the increase in total stores from 65 at the end of 2003 to 86 at the end of 2004, as well as a 36%
    year-over-year increase in average revenue per store.

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