Apple records impressive profit growth in South Korea, thanks to the aesthetic success of the iPhone 15 series.
Apple generated more than five times more profit from South Korea in the fiscal year ending September 2023 than the previous year, even though net sales were about the same as the previous two years.
The profit increase is attributed to the continued popularity of the iPhone 15 series, according to The Elec, which reports that Apple's revenue volume for the period October 2022 to September 2023 amounted to 7.52 trillion Korean won (about 5.625 billion US dollars). Net profit was 559.9 billion won (about 417.8 million US dollars).
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Compared to the period October 2021 to September 2022, where the company generated total sales of US$5.9 billion, with profits of US$91.3 million.
For the fiscal year from October 2020 to September 2021, Apple South Korea recorded sales of US$5.97 billion, with a profit of US$104.4 million.
It's unclear why profits in South Korea rose so dramatically on the same sales. Presumably, the South Korean market is experiencing rapid growth in services, thus expanding the country's profit for the year.
In another context, South Korea is one of the countries asking Apple and Google to allow alternative payments in their app stores. Apple has had difficulty gaining market share in the country, as it is a stronghold of rival Samsung.
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Apple's quarterly earnings reports worldwide will be announced on February 1.
The past year has not been a bright one for the company, with four consecutive quarters of revenue declines. Services continues to be a growth area for Apple, but the post-pandemic market has seen a decline for most hardware. Wearables will be a tough one to compare, as supply chain conditions in 2022 pushed demand into the first quarter of 2023. The Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 launched without supply issues, allowing demand to focus on the fourth quarter of 2023, with a possible decline in available demand for the first quarter of 2024.
Information source: appleinsider.com
