Record notebook shipments kept Apple in the black in the last quarter. The company reported a net profit of $61m, before restructuring charges, on revenues of $2.014bn for fiscal Q3, 2004 ended 30 June.

It shipped 860,000 iPods, up from 807,000 in the previous quarter and 733,000 in the Christmas shopping season quarter. iPods now represent 12.3 per cent of Apple's revenues. But computer sales really stoke the boiler. PowerBook and iBook shipments were up 37 per cent and 26 per cent year on year, representing 21.5 per cent and 13.6 per cent of revenue. Peripherals netted $238m (10.8 per cent) and software $187m (10.4 per cent).

Surprisingly, sales of the aging iMac and eMac lines held up well, down only seven per cent from the previous quarter. Apple was forced to postpone the third generation iMac until September, and that's left it without anything to offer in one quadrant of its client portfolio for the next financial period. But this hasn't dampened the outlook: Apple forecasts revenue up slightly in the next quarter of $2.1bn. ®

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