Apple has reported a profit of $11.6 billion in the first three months of the year, driven by record sales of iPhones and iPad tablet computers.

Revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 were at $39.2 billion as iPad sales more than doubled from the same quarter in the previous year and iPhone sales surged 88 per cent, Apple said after announcing its results yesterday.

“We’re thrilled with the sales of over 35 million iPhones and almost 12 million iPads in the March quarter,” Apple Chief Executive, Mr Tim Cook, said.

“The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you’re going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver.”

Net income

Apple’s net income for the quarter was nearly double that seen in the same three-month period a year earlier, when sales tallied $24.7 billion.

The Cupertino, California-based company released the third-generation of iPad tablet computer in March, meaning its blockbuster sales out of the gate have only begun to pump up Apple’s bottom line.

“Our record March quarter results drove $14 billion in cash flow from operations,” Apple CFO, Mr Peter Oppenheimer, said.

“Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68.”

Chinese demand

While Apple gadgets were hot in markets around the world, demand was “mind-boggling” in China, where revenue for the quarter was a record-high $7.9 billion, Mr Cook said in an earnings conference call.

Apple took in $12.4 billion in China in the six months that mark the first half of its current fiscal year, promising that the company will easily eclipse the $13.3 billion in sales in that country in the entire prior fiscal year.

Apple’s stock price reversed a losing trend for the day after the release of the earnings figures, jumping seven per cent to $599.50 a share on the Nasdaq exchange.

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