Rushit Shah - just blogging: Apple's Profit Soars 63%, Topping Views On iPod, Mac Sales

Apple blew out Wall Street forecasts late Monday and predicted a strong holiday season thanks to its refreshed lineup of iPod portable media players and Macintosh computers.

The tech leader earned $1.01 a share in its fiscal fourth quarter, 63% higher than a year earlier. Sales soared 29% to $6.22 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected Apple to earn 86 cents a share on sales of $6.07 billion.

The normally conservative company also guided Wall Street higher for its fiscal first quarter. It said it expects earnings per share of $1.42 on sales of $9.2 billion. That would translate to year-over-year EPS growth of 25% and sales growth of 29%.

Analysts expect Apple to earn $1.39 a share on sales of $8.6 billion for the holiday quarter.

Apple shares jumped 7% in after-hours trading. They rose 2% ahead of results to a record 174.36. They have more than doubled this year.

Apple sold 10.2 million iPods, up 17% from a year ago, and 2.16 million Macintosh computers, up 34%, during the quarter ended Sept. 29.

The quarter was "amazingly solid," said Morningstar analyst Rod Bare. "They sold a considerable number of Macintoshes and everything seems to be hitting on all cylinders."

Apple sold 1.12 million iPhones in the quarter too, bringing cumulative sales to 1.39 million.

Apple cut the price of the iPhone from $599 to $399 on Sept. 5. The company said it wanted to make the iPhone more affordable ahead of the holiday shopping season. But some analysts questioned whether demand was flagging.

Apple launched the iPhone June 29 in the U.S. with AT&T. (NYSE:SBT) (NYSE:T) It's preparing to roll out the iPhone in Europe. The combination smart phone, widescreen video iPod and mobile Internet device will be available Nov. 9 in the U.K. and Germany and Nov. 29 in France.

Apple said its gross profit margin was 33.6%, up from 29.2% in the year-ago quarter.

During the quarter, Apple came out with new versions of its iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle and iPod Classic music and video players. It also unveiled a new lineup of all-in-one iMac computers on Aug. 7. The iMacs feature 20- and 24-inch widescreen displays encased in aluminum and glass.

"We're looking forward to our best December quarter ever, as we head into the holiday buying season with the strongest product lineup in Apple's history," Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said in a conference call with analysts.

That product lineup includes a new version of Apple's Mac OS X operating system, called Leopard, which debuts Friday. Leopard boasts more than 300 new features. They include Quick Look, a new way to instantly see files without opening an application, and Time Machine, a way to automatically back up everything on a Mac.

The Cupertino, Calif.-based company also expects a big quarter from iPhone and the new iPod Touch. The iPod Touch, which launched Oct. 1, is like an iPhone except it can't make calls or take photos. It features the same touchscreen interface, Wi-Fi Internet access, and music and video playback capabilities as the iPhone.

Early data indicate iPod Touch sales are eating into iPhone sales, says Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with Global Equities Research.

Mac product sales accounted for 62% of Apple's revenue during the fourth quarter. Music products, such as iPods and the iTunes online store, accounted for 36%.