Mac Sales Help Boost Apple ProfitsMac Sales Help Boost Apple Profits

Apple announced a 36 percent increase in second quarter profit over last year, spurred in large part by increased shipments of its Macintosh computers.Apple announced a profit for the quarter ending in March of $1.05 billion, up from $770 million a year ago. Mac shipments were up 51 percent from last year, at 2.3 million units, spurring a revenue growth of 54 percent. iPod growth was minimal--up just one percent in units and 8 percent in revenue. iPhones, on the other hand, continued strong, with sales of 1.7 million, up from first quarter shipments of 1.1 million.

Nevertheless, the company's share price fell 1 percent due to Wall Street disappointment in Apple's gross margins, which are down to about 33 percent from 35 percent a year ago. The company pointed to lower sales of its Leopard operating system, a price cut on low-end iPods, and higher sales on iTunes (which barely breaks even) as factors in the decline in margins.Reuters via Yahoo News, CNET News