Profits rose to $US1.07 bn in the fiscal third quarter, up 31 per cent from $US 818m from a year earlier.
The company says it shipped 2.5 million Macs in the quarter, marking a rise of 41 per cent, while shipments of its iPod players rose 12 per cent.

For the past two quarters, analysts have worried that sales of Apple's computers could be pinched by the consumer spending slowdown in the United States, however research last week revealed that Apple has, in fact, surpassed Taiwan's Acer to become the No. 3 computer maker in the United States.

Mac sales accounted 47 per cent of Apple's revenue last quarter, with the second biggest money maker for Apple remaining the iPod, contributing some $US1.8-billion to the company's $US7.5-billion in total quarterly revenue.

These results however do not include sales of the new iPhone, which will be included in the next quarter's figures, which some analysts say will be among the best Apple has seen for many years.

And according to Morningstar Inc. equity analyst Rick Hanna. "We think that the iPhone is something that will open up new doors for Apple internationally with new consumers, and not just for the iPhone but for the whole company's enterprise."