Apple 'very excited' for future as iPhone sales result in record quarter

Apple has reported strong iPhone sales and whetted investors’ appetite by saying “we’re very excited about what’s in the pipeline” in a “very busy” autumn.

The computing giant sold 35.2 million iPhones in the three months to June, up 13% on a year earlier despite some fans waiting for the launch of iPhone6, tipped to have a larger screen.

Chief executive Tim Cook, pictured, gave no hint about new products but speculation centres on smart watches and TV, and the completion of the purchase of Beats, the headphones and music streaming company.

Apple had a record June quarter, with profits climbing to $7.7 billion (£4.5bn) on sales of $37.4 billion (£21.94bn), even though iPad tablets fell 9% to 13.3 million units.

Brian Colello, analyst at Morningstar, said Apple is retaining customers because its slick devices and iOS operating system may make users “more reluctant to stray outside the Apple ecosystem”.

Meanwhile, rival Microsoft’s quarterly profits fell 7% to $4.6 billion (£2.7bn) following its acquisition of Nokia’s loss-making handset division. But shares have hit a 14-year high after chief executive Satya Nadella last week announced a cull of 18,000 jobs.