Apple boosted by selling more expensive iPhones

San Francisco: Apple sold fewer iPhones than expected in its most recent quarter but higher selling prices meant the tech giant still beat Wall Street forecasts.

The firm said it sold 41.3 million iPhones in the three months to the end of June, up just 1 per cent from last year.

But the average iPhone selling price hit US$724, well above the expected US$694.

The firm said its $999 iPhone X - launched last year - remained its most popular iPhone model in the quarter and had driven the higher sales price.

Strong revenue growth of 31% from Apple’s services business, which includes the App store, Apple Music and Apple Pay, also boosted its performance.

The services business is on track for more than $14bn in revenue in 2020, chief executive Tim Cook said.

“We couldn’t be happier with how things are going,” he said. Overall the tech giant’s revenue jumped 17% year-on-year to a quarterly record of $53.3bn (£40.6bn), with every region except Japan reporting double digit growth.

Profits rose to $11.5bn, up 32% compared to the same period in 2017. Shares in the Californian tech giant jumped more than 3% in after hours trading in New York.

The gains brought Apple, already the world’s most valuable company, one step closer to a market value of $1 trillion.