Apple's Australian profit drops despite AU$6B revenue

Apple managed to rake in AU$6 billion in revenue from Australia and New Zealand in the last financial year, but has reported a drop in net profit after tax to AU$58.4 million.

The information came in documents filed to the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) late last week. The Cupertino, California, giant reported a 22.9 percent increase in revenues in the 2012 financial year ending September 29, 2012, going up from AU$4.8 billion in 2011 to AU$5.9 billion.

The company put this down to the release of the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5, and the new iPad, as well as further retail expansion in Australia and New Zealand.

But despite a significant rise in revenues, the company reported a drop in net profits after tax of AU$58.4 million down from AU$95.4 million in the 2011 financial year.

The result means Apple's tax contribution in Australia decreased from AU$94.7 million in 2011 to AU$40 million in 2012.

For comparison, Telstra reported AU$25.2 billion in revenue in the 2012 financial year, with a profit of AU$3.4 billion, while retailer JB Hi Fi reported AU$3.1 billion in revenue for the 2012 financial year, with a profit of AU$104.6 million. Telstra paid $1.5 billion in tax, while JB Hi Fi paid AU$43.7 million.

Apple listed large increases in income expenses by AU$21 million, as well as an AU$81 million increase in expenses on sales, marketing, and distribution, and AU$12 million more in administrative expenses.

The company employs 2,418 people within the Australian group of Apple.

The results show that Australia is still a very small market for Apple. Globally, the company last week reported a US$13.1 billion net profit for the first quarter alone of this financial year, with revenue of US$54.5 billion. In the Asia-Pacific region, the total revenue for the quarter was US$3.9 billion.