Apple shares leap as sales soar

APPLE shares rose more than 5pc after the closing bell in New York last night as the iPhone maker smashed expectations.

Sales at the world’s largest company were up 7.2pc to £34bn while profits rose 11.9pc to £6.6bn.

Despite fears of a slowdown ahead of a new iPhone launch, sales of its iPhones were up 1.6pc on the same period last year to 41m.

iPad sales leapt 14.8pc to 11.4m while Mac computer sales were also up 0.9pc to 4.3m. The company forecast revenue for the next quarter of around £39bn – dampening huge speculation that its next iPhone upgrade would be delayed amid supply chain problems.

Revenue up 22pc to £5.5bn from its services businesses, which includes iTunes and Apple Music, was a sign of the firm’s lessening reliance on the iPhone.

Chief executive Tim Cook said: ‘We’re very excited about the advances coming this fall.’ Shares pushed above $150.