Apple India sees strong performance

report its financial numbers and for the January-March quarter, the company has recorded a record revenue of $89.6 billion.”>fiscal to report its financial numbers and for the January-March quarter, the company has recorded a record revenue of $89.6 billion.”>Apple follows October-September fiscal to report its financial numbers and for the January-March quarter, the company has recorded a record revenue of $89.6 billion.

Apple’s India performance stayed strong in th January -March period. The iPhone maker remained the leading brand in the premium segment, which comprises smartphones costing over Rs 30,000.

As per analysts, Apple had a share of 48-49% in the premium segment with shipments of around a million devices during the quarter; iPhone 11 remains the highest selling device for the Cupertino-based company in India with strong demand for iPhone 12 too.

In the preceding October-December quarter too, Apple managed to sell over one million devices in the country. Led by the strong sales, Apple has managed to corner a 3% share in the overall smartphone segment.

As per analysts and officials, going by the momentum, Apple India is likely to achieve sales to the tune of $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion in the current fiscal. But despite such a strong performance, the share of Apple India remains miniscule or less than 1% in the company’s overall revenues.

Apple follows October-September fiscal to report its financial numbers and for the January-March quarter, the company has recorded a record revenue of $89.6 billion.

Unlike the rest of the world, in India, Apple’s previous model remains the highest selling. For instance, iPhone 11 is currently the highest selling model in India while in other countries, iPhone 12 is the top selling device. This trend has been there for quite a few years and the primary reason is low pricing of previous models. As per officials, iPhone 11, iPhone SE 2000 and iPhone XR are the top selling devices of Apple in India and all these devices are manufactured in the country. About 65% to 70% of what Apple sells in India is manufactured locally and this number is soon going to rise to 75% to 80% with local manufacturing of iPhone 12.

If the devices are made in India, customers save around 10% to 12% on price. For instance, importing an iPhone a basic custom duty (BCD) of 22% has to be paid and along with 18% GST, consumers need to pay 40% taxes on an iPhone. But if the device is made in India, one no longer needs to pay 22% BCD. A consumer still needs to pay 8% to 10% taxes for PMP (phased manufacturing programme) as various components are imported.

As per Counterpoint, Apple continued to carry forward its momentum from Q4 2020. The company witnessed 207% year-on-year growth in Q1 2021. “Strong demand for the iPhone 11 coupled with aggressive offers on the iPhone SE 2020 and expansion in ‘Make in India’ capabilities are the driving factors in this growth. Apple also registered more than 1 million shipments for two consecutive quarters for the first time,” Counterpoint said.