Apple reports earnings of $6.9 billion on sales of 31.2M iPhones, 14.6M iPads, 3.8M Macs

Apple said Tuesday that third-quarter profits fell roughly 20 percent to $6.9 billion, or $7.47 per diluted share, on relatively flat revenues of $35.4 billion for the three-month period ended June 29th, 2013.

The results compare to revenue of $35 billion and net profit of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.9 percent compared to 42.8 percent in the year-ago quarter, while international sales accounted for 57 percent of the quarter's revenue.

Apple sold 31.2 million iPhones, a record for the June quarter, compared to 26 million in the year-ago quarter. The Cupertino-based company also sold 14.6 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 17 million in the year-ago quarter. Mac sales came in at 3.8 million units, down 200,000 units from the 4 million reported for the same quarter last year, while iPod sales continued their inevitable decline, falling 32% to just 4.5 million units.

"We are especially proud of our record June quarter iPhone sales of over 31 million and the strong growth in revenue from iTunes, Software and Services," said Apple chief executive Tim Cook. "We are really excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, and we are laser-focused and working hard on some amazing new products that we will introduce in the fall and across 2014."

Apple's Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $3.05 per share of the company's common stock. The dividend is payable on August 15, 2013, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 12, 2013.

"We generated $7.8 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter and are pleased to have returned $18.8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases," said Apple Chief Financial Operator Peter Oppenheimer.

As part of the report, Apple said it's also providing the following guidance for its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter:

• revenue between $34 billion and $37 billion
• gross margin between 36 percent and 37 percent
• operating expenses between $3.9 billion and $3.95 billion
• other income/(expense) of $200 million
• tax rate of 26.5%

Apple will provide live streaming of its Q3 2013 financial results conference call beginning at 2:00 p.m. PDT today. AppleInsider will provide full coverage.