酷兔英语


Apple Inc.'s quarterly profit nearly doubled as iPhones and iPads continued to fly off shelves, putting to rest recent worries that the company can't maintain its momentum.


随着iPhone和iPad继续热销,苹果公司(Apple Inc.)季度利润接近翻番,从而打消了近期市场担心该公司无法继续高歌猛进的情绪。



Shares gained more than 7%, or $40.55, to $600.83 in after-hours trading Tuesday -- after falling in 10 of the past 11 regular trading sessions amid concerns about a potential iPhone slowdown.


周二盘后交易中,苹果股价上涨40.55美元至600.83美元,涨幅超过7%。之前的11个常规交易日中,因投资者担心iPhone销售可能已经放缓,苹果股价有10个交易日收跌。



Apple's success comes as it rides the proliferation of smartphones that are reshaping the technology landscape. But unlike others, Apple is also driving the changes with products it is able to convince consumers and businesses to buy despite a down economy. In particular, Apple's gains have come at the expense of one-time giants such as Research In Motion Ltd.


眼下智能手机市场迅猛成长,正在改变科技行业的版图,平果正是利用了这一形势,并取得成功。但和其他公司不一样的是,苹果也在推动变革,尽管经济形势不景气,它还是能够说服消费者和企业购买自己的产品。尤其重要的是,苹果的成功是以Research In Motion Ltd.等昔日巨头遭到削弱为代价而实现的。



The results suggest the company remains a well-oiled machine under Chief Executive Tim Cook, even as its scale grows amid intensifying competition in the smartphone and tabletcomputer markets. In the quarter, sales of Apple's iPhone rose 88% from a year earlier, while iPad sales more than doubled over the period.


苹果的业绩表明,在自身规模扩大、智能手机和平板电脑市场竞争加剧之际,首席执行长库克(Tim Cook)领导下的苹果依旧运转良好。苹果iPhone季度销量同比增长88%,同期iPad的销量增长超过100%。



In the past few months, Mr. Cook has taken steps to deal with Apple's girth. In March, he said he would put Apple's cash pile, long a subject of consternation among shareholders, to use via a dividend and stock buyback. Apple said it would issue the dividend in the quarter beginning in July and begin a $10 billion share-repurchase program the following quarter.


库克曾在过去几个月采取措施应对苹果公司因现金规模过大带来的问题。他在3月份时曾表示,将把现金储备通过派发股息和回购股票的方式投入使用。现金储备很长时间以来都是股东担心的一个问题。苹果公司表示将在始于今年7月份的季度派发股息,并在紧接下来的一个季度启动100亿美元的股票回购计划。



Still, analysts said Apple's stock could go on a bumpy ride in coming months, particularly as competitors like Nokia Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. rush to market with devices during a window when Apple isn't expected to push a new phone.


但分析师说,未来几个月苹果股价可能不会一帆风顺,特别是在诺基亚(Nokia Corp.)和三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)等竞争对手趁着苹果预计不会推出新手机的空档期将各自的产品纷纷推向市场的情形下。



Analysts predict Apple will launch its next iPhone in the fall, about a year after the 4S model. Expectations for Apple's stock are still lofty, with some analysts having 12-month price targets approaching $1,000 a share.


分析师预计苹果将在今年秋季推出新款iPhone,与首次推出iPhone 4S的时间相隔一年左右。他们对苹果股价的预期仍然很高,其中一部分人预计12个月后将接近每股1,000美元。



Over the quarter, the nearly five-year-old iPhone remained Apple's key driver. Apple said it sold 35.1 million of the smartphones, up from 18.65 million units a year ago. The device and related products and services formed 57.9% of Apple's sales, up from 52.7% last quarter. The company said its latest iPhone is now available in more than 100 countries and 230 wireless carriers, up from 186 carriers in 90 countries as of March last year.


诞生接近五年之久的iPhone仍然是苹果利润的关键推进器。苹果说,上一季度售出iPhone 3,510万部,高于上年同期的1,865万部。这款手机连同相关产品和服务构成了苹果57.9%的销售额,高于前一季度的52.7%。该公司说,最新款iPhone目前在100多个国家、230家无线运营商有售,多于去年3月份90个国家的186家运营商。



On a conference call, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said iPhone sales in greater China were five times the level of the year-ago quarter.


苹果首席财务长奥本海默(Peter Oppenheimer)在电话会议中说,大中华区iPhone销量达到了上年同期的五倍。



The results were an encouraging sign of how the hit device would fare outside the U.S., particularly in less affluent countries where smartphone growth is increasingly shifting.


这些数据释放出了一个鼓舞人心的信号,表明这款风靡一时的产品可能在美国之外取得佳绩,尤其是在智能手机销量增长日新月异的不那么富裕的国家。



'Smartphone growth domestically is slowing because we have reached a saturation point,' said Peter Misek, a managing director at Jefferies & Co. He said Apple should be well-positioned in other markets given the strength of luxury brands in countries like China.


咨询公司Jefferies & Co.的执行董事米谢克(Peter Misek)说,因为已经达到饱和状态,美国国内智能手机市场的增长速度正在放缓。他说,考虑到奢侈品牌在中国等国家的优势,苹果应该在其他市场做好准备。



The Cupertino, Calif., company posted a 94% profit jump to $11.6 billion and a 58.9% revenue increase to $39.2 billion for the first three months of the year from a year earlier. While the numbers showed a slight deceleration from growth rates the quarter before, the results were well above analyst estimates of $9.52 billion in profits on revenue of $36.8 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.


总部位于加州库珀蒂诺(Cupertino)的苹果公司今年头三个月的利润增长了94%,达到116亿美元,营收增长了58.9%,达到392亿美元。根据汤森路透(Thomson Reuters Corp.)的数据,尽管从这些数据来看增速较上一个季度有所放缓,但仍高于分析人士预期的95.2亿美元的利润和368亿美元的营收。



Sales of the iPad over the quarter were slightly lower than some analysts had forecast, but up more than 150% from a year ago to 11.8 million units. Apple introduced a new iPad model during the quarter.


上个季度iPad的销售量略低于一些分析人士的预测,但是同比增幅超过150%,达到1,180万部。苹果在上个季度发布了新版iPad。



Mr. Oppenheimer said Apple is 'selling the new iPad as fast as we can make them.' Demand, he said, is 'staggering.'


奥本海默说,苹果全新iPad的销售速度已经赶上了生产速度;市场需求相当惊人。



During the call, Mr. Cook gave his strongest public hint yet that he'd be willing to settle the sprawling legal battles started by his predecessor Steve Jobs. 'I've always hated litigation and I continue to hate it,' he said. Apple and Samsung recently agreed to enter settlement talks in a California patent case.


在电话会议中,库克首次公开强烈暗示他将解决在其前任乔布斯(Steve Jobs)时代就已经开始的、进展缓慢的诉讼战。他说,我向来讨厌打官司,现在也一样。苹果和三星最近同意就一项在加州法院提起诉讼的专利权案展开和解谈判。



Mr. Cook also brushed off some of the looming competition, downplaying an upcoming operating system from Microsoft Corp. called Windows 8 that is designed to better converge computers, tablets and phones.


对于可能出现的竞争,库克表现得相当轻松,轻描淡写地提及了微软公司(Microsoft Corp.)即将发布的Windows 8操作系统。据称该系统将更好地整合电脑、平板和手机。



'You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things likely aren't going to be pleasing to the user,' Mr. Cook said.


库克说,你可以将烤面包机和冰箱整合到一起,但是这种东西不太可能招用户喜欢。



Apple's guidance for the current quarter ending in late June -- revenue of about $34 billion and earnings per share of $8.68 -- was lower than analysts' expected, as it usually is. Mr. Oppenheimer said lower numbers reflect how the company was able to fulfill demand for the latest devices more quickly, minimizing the spillover of sales into the next quarter.


根据苹果的预测,该公司在6月末结束的当前季度的营收预计将达340亿美元,每股收益达8.68美元。与往常一样,苹果的预测低于分析师的预期。奥本海默说,这些较低的预期反映了公司更快满足消费者对最新产品需求的能力,从而将对下一个季度销售的影响最小化。



Apple's cash hoard grew to $110.2 billion as of March 31, up from $97.6 billion at the end of December. Its closely watched gross margin, rose to 47.4% from 41.4% a year earlier.


截至3月31日,苹果的现金储备增长到了1,102亿美元,高于去年12月末的976亿美元。苹果公司受到密切关注的净利润率上升到了47.4%,而去年同期则是41.4%。



Jessica E. Vascellaro / Ian Sherr