iLounge

Reporting its second quarter financial results today, Apple said it shipped just over 8.5 million iPods during the quarter—slightly below analyst predictions, but a 61 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year. Apple’s net profit for the quarter was $410 million, or 47 cents per share, on $4.36 billion in revenue. These results compare to revenue of $3.24 billion and a net profit of $290 million, or 34 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. While Apple has not yet officially announced its total iPod sales numbers, the addition of these 8.5 million additional iPods brings the total to more than 50 million iPods shipped since the device was introduced in 2001.

“We’ve generated over $10 billion in revenue and almost $1 billion in earnings in the first half of fiscal 2006,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Our transition to Intel processors is going very well, and our music business just experienced another quarter of outstanding growth.”

“We’re very pleased to report the second highest quarterly sales in Apple’s history, resulting in year-over-year revenue growth of 34 percent and earnings growth of 41 percent,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the third quarter of fiscal 2006, we expect revenue of about $4.2 to $4.4 billion. We expect GAAP earnings per diluted share of about 39 to 43 cents including an estimated 4 cent per share expense impact from non-cash stock-based compensation, translating to non-GAAP EPS of about 43 to 47 cents.”

Update: In an SEC filing, Apple said all iPod models accounted for more than $1.7 billion in revenue during the quarter, an increase of 69 percent compared to last year. Apple’s “Other Music Products” category—which includes the iTunes Music Store, iPod related services and accessories—accounted for $485 million of the quarter’s revenue, a 125 percent increase year-over-year.