蘋果預計當前財季營收將恢復增長

Apple is forecasting a return to revenue growth in the run-up to Christmas, after reporting a 9 per cent decline in sales during its fiscal fourth quarter.

蘋果(Apple)預計聖誕節前公司利潤將恢復增長。在第四財季，蘋果營收減少了9%。

As expected, Apple posted its first decline in annual revenues for more than a decade as demand for the iPhone 6S failed to match its blockbuster predecessor. Sales for fiscal 2016 were down 8 per cent to $215.6bn.

正如預期那樣，蘋果iPhone 6S的需求比不上前款火爆手機，導致年營收在10多年來首次下降。2016財年銷售額下降了8%，至2156億美元。

The world’s most valuable company sold 45.5m iPhones in the three months to September 24, down 5 per cent on a year ago but broadly meeting analysts’ predictions. Profits fell 19 per cent in the fourth quarter to $9bn.

在截至9月24日的3個月，這家全球最高市值公司賣出了4550萬部iPhone，同比下降了5%，但大體符合分析師的預期。第四財季蘋果的利潤下降了19%，至90億美元。

For the December quarter, which is typically Apple’s most lucrative, the company is forecasting sales of $76bn-$78bn, at least 1 per cent up on the same period a year ago. Alongside strong demand for the new iPhone 7, Apple is benefiting from rapid growth in its services business, which includes the App Store and Apple Music.

對於12月所在的當前財季——這通常是蘋果利潤最多的季度——該公司預計銷售額爲760億至780億美元，至少比去年同期增長1%。 除了新上市iPhone 7需求強勁，蘋果也正得益於其服務業務（包括應用商店(App Store)和蘋果音樂(Apple Music)）的快速增長。

Revenues from services increased 24 per cent to $6.3bn in the fourth quarter, making it Apple’s second-largest source of income after the iPhone amid another sluggish performance by the Mac and iPad.

在第四財季，蘋果服務收入增長了24%，達到63億美元，成爲排在iPhone之後的第二大收入來源。同時，Mac和iPad的銷售很低迷。

Apple is seen as benefiting from the popularity of Pokémon Go, which quickly attracted 500m downloads after its release this summer. Apple finance chief Luca Maestri said App Store revenues were up in the “strong double digits” and Pokémon Go was “just one element of that”. Apple’s music revenues grew 22 per cent.

人們認爲，蘋果正受益於《口袋妖怪Go》(Pokémon Go)的流行，此遊戲在今夏發佈後，迅速吸引到5億的下載量。蘋果首席財務官盧卡.馬埃斯特里(Luca Maestri)表示，應用商店的收入實現了“兩位數的強勁增長”，而《口袋妖怪Go》“只是推動因素之一”。 蘋果的音樂收入增長了22%。

He said that customers’ initial response to the iPhone 7, “bodes well as we get into the December quarter”. Supplies of the shiny “Jet Black” model are still lagging behind demand, he said, with the larger iPhone 7 Plus proving particularly popular.

馬埃斯特里說，“進入12月這個財季後”，客戶對iPhone 7的初步反應“是個好兆頭”。他說，亮黑色(Jet Black)iPhone 7仍供不應求，而更大的iPhone 7 Plus特別受歡迎。

Supply shortages made it hard to gauge the impact from Samsung’s withdrawal of its Galaxy Note 7, he said, while adding that Apple was seeing record numbers of people switching from Android to iPhone.

他說，供應短缺使三星召回Galaxy Note 7的影響變得難以評估。他補充道，蘋果公司看到從安卓(Android)手機轉向iPhone的人數創下了記錄。

Wall Street investors are struggling to predict whether the iPhone will return to growth over the full year. Apple does not give guidance more than one quarter ahead but Mr Maestri said: “What we are seeing right now makes us very optimistic for the rest of the year.”

華爾街投資者正在努力預測，iPhone是否會恢復全財年增長。蘋果並未給出一個財季之外的指引，但馬埃斯特里說：“我們現在看到的情況，讓我們對今年餘下的時間段非常樂觀。”

Mr Maestri also defended Apple’s performance in China, where revenues fell 30 per cent year on year in the quarter and 17 per cent for the full year. He said that the popularity of the iPhone 6 two years ago made for a “very difficult compare”.

馬埃斯特里還爲蘋果在中國的業績做了辯護。第四財季，蘋果在中國的營收同比下降了30%，整個財年同比下降了17%。