Apple Sees Record High Mac Sales In India: Will FY20 Be Brighter For iPhone?

Apple India reportedly announced that it has registered a new record in its fiscal Q4 2019 and the company claims to have generated an all-time revenue record for the Mac in the country.

At the earnings call, on Wednesday, it stated that India is back on Apple’s growth trajectory after some dull quarters in the past. The July-September period saw Apple log record revenue in the country and is set to break the numbers in its fiscal 2020 Q1 (January-March period) as iPhone 11 series has witnessed a good response from the Indian buyers in its first few weeks of sale.

However, the mention of profit generated from iPhone 11 in India was not mentioned at the earnings call, but the company seems to be optimistic about its potential growth in the coming financial year (FY20), as the product was launched in September 2019.

Luca Maestri, SVP and CFO of Apple, told analysts that the company has generated an all-time revenue record for Mac in the US and in India, and a fourth-quarter revenue record in Japan, despite the tough comparison with other Apple products.

“More than half of the customers purchasing Macs during the quarter were new to Mac, and the active installed base of Macs again reached a new all-time high,” he added

“At a country level, we established new Q4 records in many major developed and emerging markets, including India,” – Maestri

Looking at the India market seriously, Apple has already started its production of its iPhone XR at its manufacturing partner Foxconn’s facility in Chennai. Further optimistic about the Indian market, Apple recently said that it is looking to establish a stronger base in India and besides manufacturing, it is focusing more sharply at retail with the Apple Store coming to Mumbai and other cities soon.

However, earlier this week, Apple India’s revenue and net profit dropped for the first time in FY19 due to the slowing iPhone sales and increase in pricing in the Indian market owing to weakening rupee and higher import duties during the last fiscal year. This should change in the current quarter with more manufacturing in India and the newer iPhone 11.

The company’s operations revenue fell 19% from INR 13,049 Cr in F Y18 to 10,538 Cr in FY19. Total income, on the other hand, has dropped to 18.5%, from INR 13,098 Cr to INR 10,674 Cr. Net profit also saw a pitfall of 70%, INR 262 Cr compared to FY18, INR 896 Cr, as shown in the latest regulatory filings made with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

While the low profits could be explained by the conservative consumption in the past few months, the question now remains: Will things go back on track for Apple in terms of profit as it enters the FY20? It very well could after the festive season sales and new iPhone launches, which typically generate a lot of sales in the early days.