iPod Sales Up 50%
M$'s Zune has no sway over the iPod

The company reported first-quarter profit of $1 billion as iPod sales increased by 50 percent compared with the same period a year ago, Apple said in a press release Wednesday.

Revenue was $7.1 billion, up about 25 percent from the previous year's first quarter of $5.7 billion. Earnings per share were $1.14, up sharply from the previous year's earnings per share of 65 cents, for Apple's first fiscal quarter ending on December 30.

"Our fiscal year 2007 is off to a tremendous start," Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, said on a conference call following the company's earnings release.

The results far outdid analyst expectations as tallied by Thomson First Call. The projection was for revenue of $6.4 billion and earnings per share of 78 cents.

Apple provided conservative guidance for its second quarter, however. It said it expects revenue of $4.8 billion to $4.9 billion, and earnings per share of 54 cents to 56 cents. Both ranges are below what analysts were projecting going into the current quarter.

The device has been around for five years, but iPod sales are still going strong, Apple reported. Just over 21 million iPods were purchased during the quarter, compared with 14 million during the previous year's holiday season. Revenue from iPods increased just 18 percent, however, from $2.9 billion to $.4 billion. Revenue from the iTunes Store was up 29 percent.

Read all about it here, courtesy of CNET.com.

-Eric