Apple reports record profits

By Neal Wallace

Apple has posted record-breaking net profits for the three months to 31st December 2011 of $13.06 billion (£8.36 billion).

The figure is up 118 per cent on the same period in 2010, with 37 million iPhones sold, more than twice as many as the previous year's fourth quarter.

It is expected that the computing giant will release the iPad 3 in March this year, further boosting sales.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, said that the company's "momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline".

He added that he was very happy with the amount generated and expects revenue of around $32.5 billion during the second quarter of 2012.

Colin Gillis, analyst at BGC Partners, told the BBC that Apple is doing "an amazing job" of bridging the transition from feature phones to smartphones.

The firm lost its co-founder and former head Steve Jobs to pancreatic cancer last year.