Apple iPhone Sales Fall For Second Quarter

Apple (LSE: 0R2V.L - news) 's profits dropped 27% in the second quarter of the year - partly driven by sales in China falling by a third.

The world's most valuable publicly-traded company reported profits of $7.8bn (£5.9bn) on revenues of $42.4bn (£32.2bn) between April and June.

The focus was on iPhone sales after Apple endured a first quarterly decline in the previous three months - Apple confirming a fall of 15% to 40.4 million units in its latest trading period.

The iPhone is crucial for Apple as it still accounts for two-thirds of its revenue.

Mac sales fell 13% but the results also showed increased sales for services including the App Store and iCloud - raising $6bn, a rise of 19%.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) admitted that the economic slowdown, particularly in China, meant a growing number of consumers were failing to upgrade their iPhone models.

Some analysts also pointed to rivals raising their game.

Patrick Moorhead, of Moor Insights & Strategy, said: "Samsung and Huawei are much more competitive now than a year ago."

:: What It Is Like To Be Headhunted By Apple

Apple has encountered a number of regulatory problems in China but said it was working with authorities to restore its stores for books and movies after they were taken down by the authorities - insisting they were yielding less than $1m at the time.

The company pointed to growth in India as one of the rare bright spots, with iPhone sales rising 51%.

Chief executive Tim Cook said: "India is now one of our fastest growing markets ... We're looking forward to opening more retail stores in India down the road, and we see huge potential."

The company's share price - down more than 8% during 2016 to date - rose 7% in after-hours trading as the company's earnings forecasts for the remainder of the year beat analysts' expectations.

Apple is likely to have based those projections on the release of a new iPhone 7 range - widely expected to be released in September.