Prabhu RamIndia smartphone market continues to be hard nut to track for Apple. Despite several price cuts and discounts on older iPhones, Apple’s revenue and net profit has fallen to ₹10,538 crores and 262 crores in 2018-19, for the first time in several years, according to the regulatory filings by Apple to the Registrar of Companies, as reported by ET.
Apple’s revenue from operations and net profit in 2017-18 was ₹13,049 crore and ₹896 crore, respectively, while in the year before (2016-17), it was ₹11,618 crore and ₹373 crore, respectively. Apple is yet to issue an official statement to the press on the matter.
“The slump in Apple’s India revenues in FY 2019 is not surprising, and can be attributed to the tough market conditions it faced last year, including weakened rupee and higher import duties, as well as the muted consumer sentiments owing to high iPhone prices,” points out Prabhu Ram, Head, Industry Intelligence Group at CMR.
The demand for iPhones had also plummeted as the competition in the premium segment has heated up with OnePlus offering high end smartphones with comparable and sometimes even better design and features.
“Apple is on a firmer footing now going forward, and its FY20 performance will reflect that, owing to a more prudent pricing strategy with the iPhone 11 series, more enhanced local production, more local R&D, as well as a potentially stronger retail presence in the near future.”
Source: LiveMint
