Apple sees China sales rocket during ‘most successful year ever’

Tim Cook hailed “Apple’s most successful year ever” as the company yesterday revealed it pulled in US$234 billion in revenue in the 12 months from October 2014 to September 2015. That’s up 28 percent from the year prior.

The blockbuster numbers were most evident in the greater China area (covering mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau), with revenues for July to September this year (Q3 2015) rocketing 99 percent compared to the same period in 2014. Greater China sales amounted to US$12.52 billion of Apple’s total US$51.5 billion in the past three months. Here’s the Asia-specific chart (note that APAC stands for Asia-Pacific):

While it’s not the biggest ever quarter for revenue from China, it sets Apple up well for an all-time high in the country in Q1 2016 as shoppers buy themselves new stuff for the all-important Chinese New Year holiday, which falls on February 8.

Apple’s latest results benefitted from the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus getting a simultaneous launch in the US and mainland China.

In addition, Apple reported 48 million iPhone sales in the past three months, which is up 22 percent year-on-year. However, iPad sales dropped 20 percent to 9.89 million.

Global impact

If we throw in Apple’s two other geographic area breakdowns – Europe and the Americas – the chart now looks like this since the start of 2013:

Apple’s booming sales in mainland China will be a relief to the company after a slowdown in the nation’s economy following a dramatic stock market tumble over the summer.