iPad, iPhone, Power Record Revenue for Apple

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Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) reported bang-up results for its fourth quarter, including record revenue of $20.34 billion and a net quarterly profit of $4.31 billion. Those numbers are up over the same quarter a year ago when Apple reported $12.21 billion in revenue and $2.53 billion in quarterly profit.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of $4.08 a share on revenue of $18.9 billion, but Apple blew by that estimate with earnings per share of $4.64.

Apple’s results, with one notable exception, came in no small way from a boost in sales across the company’s product line. For example, the company sold 3.89 million Macs in the quarter, up 27 percent over a year ago. But the biggest increase came from the iPhone, with unit sales of 14.1 million in the quarter, a jump of 91 percent from a year ago.

iPod sales declined in the quarter to 9.05 million — an 11 percent drop from a year ago. But sales of the newer iPad continue to boom, checking in at 4.19 million for the recent quarter.

“We are blown away to report over $20 billion in revenue and over $4 billion in after-tax earnings — both all-time records for Apple,” Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement.

Jobs also made note of the fact that the iPhone’s 14.1 million unit sales “handily beating the 12.1 million phones RIM sold in their most recent quarter. We still have a few surprises left for the remainder of this calendar year.”

“We’re thrilled with the performance and strength of our business, generating almost $5.7 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter,” Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, said in a statement. “Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $23 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $4.80.”

Apple’s earnings forecast is also bullish. The company said it expects that in the first fiscal quarter of 2011 its revenue will be “about $23 billion” and diluted earnings per share of about $4.80.”

The company is planning a conference call with analysts later today to discuss the earnings results in more detail. Apple shares were down 0.10 percent in after hours trading at 317.90.

David Needle is the West Coast bureau chief at InternetNews.com, the news service of Internet.com, the network for technology professionals.