Apple Racks Up $101 Million Profit

Apple Computer today announced a profit of $101 million for the third fiscal quarter of 1998, although bolstered by $26 million in one-time investment gains. $101 million works out to $.65 per share, almost double analysts’ estimates of $.33 per share. Revenues for the quarter equaled last quarter at $1.4 billion, gross margins were 25.7 percent (the highest in three years, thanks to the Power Macintosh G3 and PowerBook G3s), and Apple CFO Fred Anderson said that company has almost $2 billion in cash on hand. Anderson also noted that the introduction of the low-margin iMac in the next fiscal quarter will drive down gross margins but should increase revenues.