Peak iPhone? Apple reports first sales drop in 13 years
A drop in iPhone sales for Apple’s second quarter for 2016 led to the company’s first revenue decline in 13 years.
CEO Tim Cook blamed multiple factors – economic conditions in China, the company’s second largest market after the US, the popularity of the iPhone 6, and the fact that the smaller iPhone SE was released in March.
On those latter two points, the number of iPhone owners upgrading to the iPhone 6 last year means there are fewer opting to upgrade again to the iPhone 6s. And the iPhone SE was released in March, meaning its sales aren’t counted this quarter.
Contradicting"'peak iPhone" claims, Cook defended Apple’s smartphone business, describing it as "healthy and strong".
He admitted the market "is currently not growing", but put this down to the macroeconomic environment.
"And we're very optimistic that this too shall pass and that the market and particularly us will grow again," he added.
Another interesting nugget from Apple’s earnings – the company isn’t giving out Apple Watch sales figures, but says the device outpaced the original iPhone in its first year on sale.
The company reported a 13% drop in revenues, driven by an 18% drop in iPhone sales. The company shipped 51m iPhones during the quarter, down from 75 million in the same period last year. Revenues came to $50.5bn, down from $75.9bn.
Source: Apple
Argos ‘disappointing’ as Home Retail Group goes into the red
Despite being the object of a bidding war through this year, Home Retail Group has slumped into a loss, driven by a £852m goodwill impairment charge.
Home Retail Group has agreed to be taken over by Sainsbury’s, and booked the charge on goodwill stemming from its acquisition of Argos in 1998.
Total sales were flat, falling 1% to £5.67bn, while pre-tax profits were down 28% to £97.4m.
Argos made progress over the year, with Home Retail Group converting 20% of its stores to a digital-first shopping format and online transactions now accounting for nearly half of sales. Though "materially improved", however, the group admitted Argos’ performance was "disappointing". Like-for-like sales were down 2.6% for the year to March 2016.
Source:
Adidas bumps up its outlook on ‘strong brand momentum’
Adidas announced a better than expected first quarter, boosting its financial outlook for 2016. It predicts an increase in sales by 15% for the year.
Revenue was up 22% for the first quarter to €4.8bn, with net income up 28% to €350m. The brand’s full results are out on 4 May.
Source: Adidas
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