iLounge

As expected, Apple today announced record financial results for its fiscal 2006 first quarter ended December 31, 2005. Apple’s net profit for the holiday quarter was $565 million, or 65 cents per share, on $5.75 billion in revenue—the highest quarterly earnings and revenue in the company’s history. These results compare to revenue of $3.49 billion and a net profit of $295 million, or 35 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

During his keynote speech at Macworld Expo last week, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that more than 14 million iPods were sold during the quarter, which represents a 207 percent growth in iPods compared to last year. The total number of iPods sold now stands at over 42 million.

“We are thrilled to report the best quarter in Apple’s history,” said Jobs. “Two highlights of an incredible quarter were selling 14 million iPods and getting ready to launch our new Macs with Intel processors five to six months ahead of expectations. We are working on more wonderful products for 2006, and I can’t wait to see what our customers think of them.”

Update: In an SEC filing, Apple said all iPod models accounted for more than $2.9 billion in revenue during the quarter, an increase of 177 percent compared to last year. Apple’s “Other Music Products” category—which includes the iTunes Music Store, iPod related services and accessories—accounted for $491 million of the quarter’s revenue, a 177 percent increase year-over-year.