BENGALURU: Apple said it more than doubled its business in India in its last fiscal, helped by strong sales of its iPhones, underscoring the country’s growing importance in its ecosystem, albeit from a smaller base.
“We have set quarterly records in every geographic segment with strong double-digit growth across the board. During fiscal year 2021, we generated approximately one-third of our revenue from emerging markets and doubled our business in India and Vietnam. We are optimistic about the future, especially as we see strong demand for our new products,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a conference call with analysts following the iPhone maker’s fourth-quarter results.
For the three months ended September 25, Apple reported revenue of $83 billion, a 30% increase from the previous year. For the full year, revenue rose 33% to $365 billion, while revenue from the rest of Asia Pacific, which includes India, was up 37%. Apple doesn’t break down revenue by country.
This is the second consecutive quarter that Apple has done well in India, where the market is dominated by Chinese smartphone makers and Samsung. For the quarter ended June, Apple set record numbers in the country and achieved double-digit growth.
The California-based company was the fastest growing brand in India in the third quarter, growing at 212% and leading the premium smartphone market with a 44% share, according to Counterpoint Research data. Premium smartphones are those which cost above Rs 30,000.
“The brand maintained its leading position in the ultra-premium segment (Rs 45,000) with a 74% share. Strong demand for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 were key factors in Apple’s growth. According to Counterpoint analyst Tarun Pathak, Apple has for the first time become the top 5G smartphone brand in the premium segment.
However, Cook cautioned that supply chain bottlenecks — particularly chip shortages that are affecting all sectors — will lead to major increases during the holiday season. This negatively impacted its revenue by $6 billion in the recently ended quarter.
“Despite this challenge, we continue to see high demand for our products and expect to achieve year-over-year revenue growth and set a new revenue record during the December quarter,” Cook said.
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