Apple crossed the $1 billion sales mark in India for the first time during the financial year 2014-15, which ended in March, as per the results filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). The company posted a 44 percent increase in sales to Rs. 6,472.89 crore as compared to Rs. 4,500.35 crore it posted during the last financial year. It has nearly doubled its sales from FY13 where it posted a revenue of Rs. 3,057.79 crore.
Apple’s net profits during the financial year also doubled to Rs. 242.85 crore from Rs. 119.48 crore as it widened its retail network and stepped up marketing efforts, including buyback schemes, discounts and more. Analysts say the reason behind this growth is the surge in demand for iPhones, with sales growing upwards of 35% quarter-on-quarter in the last two years. Apple India’s annual report stated, “With a view to conserving its financial resources, no dividend payout to the company's shareholders has been recommended by the board of directors for the current year.” It also said that Apple Operations International (Apple's Irish subsidary) owns 99 percent of Apple India while the rest was owned by Apple Operations Europe.
Apple may be headed towards another successful financial year. According to a report by Canaccord Genuity, Apple’s share of the total smartphone profits grew to 94 percent during the first quarter of 2015 as compared to 85 percent during the same period last year. Even though it was second in smartphone volume shipments in the same quarter. Samsung has a 11 percent share of the total operating income. Apple earned such a high share of profits despite producing only 14.5 percent of the smartphones that were sold during the quarter. On the other hand, Samsung accounted for 24.5 percent of the total smartphones shipped during the same. The average selling price of iPhones in the quarter was $670 with 37 percent operating margins while Samsung’s average selling price was $180. Apple is also planning to expand its reach even further in India as it has appointed 130 corporate resellers in the country, including tier II and tier III cities.
Source: Economic Times