Apple reported a 35.8 per cent annual decline in its fiscal fourth-quarter 2024 earnings, driven by a one-time charge of more than $10 billion related to a European tax ruling, while forecasting single-digit sales growth for the current quarter.
According to a regulatory filing, Apple paid a $10.2 billion income tax charge last month to settle a long-standing case, dating to 2016, concerning its tax practices in Ireland. The European Commission launched an investigation in 2014 into Apple’s tax payments in Ireland, where the tech giant’s EU headquarters is located.
Apple has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and has been involved in anti-trust investigations in Japan, South Korea and Europe.
Last month, the EU also told Apple to allow access to its tightly controlled iPhone and iPad operating systems to rival companies and third-party developers or face anti-trust fines.
The California-based company’s net profit in the previous quarter, which ended on September 28, dropped to more than $14.7 billion.
Revenue during the July-September period jumped 6 per cent on a yearly basis to $94.9 billion, beating analysts’ average estimates of $94.5 billion.
It was the company's record for sales in the September quarter.
After the earnings announcement, Apple stock dropped 2.08 per cent to trade at $221.20 a share in after-hours trading on Thursday.
It closed 1.82 per cent down at $225.91, giving the company a market value of $3.43 trillion. Its stock has jumped almost 22 per cent since the start of the year.
“This was one of the fastest-moving quarters for Apple in a long time, with several product roll-outs and updates making accountability more volatile than usual for the giant,” Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com, told The National.
During a call with analysts, Apple predicted “low to mid-single digit” sales growth during the December quarter.
Last month, Apple launched the iPhone 16 line-up, Apple Watch series 10, AirPods 4, and features for hearing health and sleep apnoea detection.
This week, the company released its first set of features for Apple Intelligence, “which sets a new standard for privacy in AI and supercharges our line-up heading into the holiday season”, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said.
iPhone sales returned to profit
Boosted by the launch of the latest iPhone 16 series, the company's premier product surged 5.5 per cent in the last quarter.
Net sales from iPhones stood at more than $46.2 billion, exceeded analysts’ estimates of $45.4 billion.
They accounted for nearly 48.6 per cent of the company's total revenue in the last quarter. Apple’s latest devices were released on September 20, providing about a week of new product sales in the quarter.
But iPhone sales dropped almost 1 per cent to nearly $39.3 billion in the June quarter.
The company’s total revenue from its services division grew nearly 12 per cent annually to almost $24.9 billion, while revenue from wearables, and home and accessories products dropped 3 per cent annually to more than $9 billion. It was a revenue record in the company’s services division.
“Despite slightly below general consensus, the 12 per cent growth in services revenue is also an overall positive long-term catalyst, as the division stands to benefit the most from the long-term AI adoption cycle that we expect to gain traction in the quarters ahead,” Mr Monteiro said.
Revenue from iPads and computers increased 4.5 per cent to pass $14.6 billion.
Stiff competition in China
The company’s overall sales, which include revenue from products and services, in the Greater China market (China, Hong Kong and Taiwan) remained flat on annual basis at $15 billion. However, it jumped 2 per cent on a quarterly basis driven by the launch of new iPhones and Apple watch last month.
Apple faced stiff competition in China from local brands such as Huawei, Vivo and Xiaomi.
The Americas region led Apple’s sales. It accounted for nearly 44 per cent of the company's total fourth-quarter revenue, with more than $41.6 billion.
It was followed by Europe, which added $24.9 billion – up almost 11 per cent annually – to the company’s revenue.
Japan and the rest of the Asia Pacific market added more than $13.3 billion to Apple’s fourth-quarter sales, an annual jump of 12.4 per cent.
Apple said its board of directors had declared a cash dividend, payable on November 14, of $0.25 for each share of the company’s common stock.
“Our record business performance during the September quarter drove nearly $27 billion in operating cash flow, allowing us to return over $29 billion to our shareholders,” said Luca Maestri, Apple’s chief financial officer.
He said, without disclosing the exact number, that Apple’s active installed base of devices reached a new all-time high across all products and all geographic segments in the last quarter.
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How Apple's credit card works
The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.
What does it cost?
Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.
What will the interest rate be?
The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts
What about security?
The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.
Is it easy to use?
Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.
* Associated Press
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Related
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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