Apple iPhone quarterly sales exceed estimates

Apple had high above the expected in iPhone sales in the last quarter of 2016, but the revenue forecast for the current quarter came in below estimates, with customers avoiding purchases before the release of the 10th anniversary of the iPhone.
Apple sold iPhones in the quarter closed 78,290,000 in December, up from 74,780,000 a year earlier, marking the first quarterly growth in iPhone sales in a year.
Analysts on average estimated 77,420,000 iPhone sales, according to FactSet Research consultancy Street.
The results occur at a time when global demand for smartphones and cheaper alternatives of Android are flooding the market.
Apple''s services business, which includes the App Store, Apple Pay and iCloud, surged to 18,4% in revenue, helped by the popularity of games such as Pokemon and Super Mario Go Go Run and increased revenue from subscriptions.
The company predicted total revenue of between 51.5 billion and 53.5 billion dollars for the current quarter. Analysts, on average, expected revenue of $53.79 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/s.
The company''s net profit in the quarter fell off to 17.89 billion, or $3.36 per share, up from $18.36 billion, or $3.28 per share a year earlier. Analysts on average predicted $3.21 per share.
Revenue climbed to 78.35 3,3% billion dollars, compared with the average estimate of 77.25 billion dollars.