Apple announces strong second quarter in Asia, and record-breaking numbers in China

Apple today announced its financial results for what it terms the second quarter of 2015, and by all accounts, things went well. The company posted strong numbers across the board, but nowhere were they stronger than in Asia, where Apple’s mobile products performed particularly well.

In the company’s Q2 earnings call, CFO Luca Maestri revealed that Apple set an all-time quarterly record for revenue in China, taking in US$16.8 billion during the quarter (up 77.8 percent year-on-year). The cause of the growth, according to CEO Tim Cook, was Apple’s increased efforts in infrastructure and its ecosystem in China taking root over this quarter. He cited, for example, the additional Apple stores Apple has opened in China so far this year, the addition of UnionPay as a payment option for Chinese customers, and improvements made to Apple’s online store in China, which Cook says tripled its revenue year-on-year.

Cook said that the iPhone led the way in terms of Apple’s China revenues, but the iPad also had its best-ever quarter in China, and Mac sales were also up 31 percent despite a PC market that is shrinking overall. The Chinese App Store had a record-breaking quarter and grew more than 100 percent year-on-year, and Cook said that Apple has paid out nearly US$2.5 billion to Chinese app developers over the past 12 months.

But it’s not just China – Apple is doing well all over Asia. Maestri said that iPhone sales more than doubled during Q2 in Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and the iPad had its best-ever Q2 in Japan. Cook said that a lot of the growth across Asia’s emerging markets was driven by first-time buyers. Even in China, Cook said, more than 70 percent of iPad buyers are first-time iPad owners. As Asia’s middle class emerges they are driving record-breaking sales for Apple. Of course, the lunar new year holiday is also a big driver of sales in some Asian markets, especially China.

Cook also touched on the Apple Watch during the earnings call, saying that early customer reviews are almost universally positive and that demand outstrips supply, but the company did not provide any specific sales numbers for the Watch in Asia or elsewhere as its launch falls into what Apple considers Q3 2015.

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