Apple's annual profits crumble for the first time since 2001

Apple made $7.5bn (£4.3bn) in profits in the fourth quarter, down from $8.2bn (£5bn) in the same period of 2012.

Annual profits fell from $41.7bn (£26bn) in 2012 to $37bn (£23bn) in the 12 months to the end of September.

This is the tech goliath’s first annual profit fall since 2001.

The company’s drop in profits are attributed to weak computer sales and falling margins.

Apple sold a record 33.8 million iPhones for the final quarter, up from 26.9 million in the same period last year. The company also sold 14.1 million iPads in the last quarter compared to 14 million between July and September 2012.

However, Mac sales were down to 4.6 million in the three months to September, from 4.9 million in the same period last year.

In better news, Apple’s revenues were at $37.5bn, up from $36bn a year ago.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook said: “We’re excited to go into the holidays with our new iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s, iOS 7, the new iPad mini with Retina Display and the incredibly thin and light iPad Air, new MacBook Pros, the radical new Mac Pro, OS X Mavericks and the next generation iWork and iLife apps for OS X and iOS.”

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