Apple has announced strong Q3 revenues of $53.3bn (£40.6bn), 17 per cent up on Q3 2017, and profits of $11.5bn, compared to $8.7bn in Q3 2017. Apple sold 41.3m iPhones in the quarter, at an average sale price of $724. Services revenue, including income from the App Store, Apple Music and Apple Pay, was up 31 per cent year-on-year at $9.5bn.

“We’re thrilled to report Apple’s best June quarter ever, and our fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth,” said Apple CEO, Tim Cook. “Our Q3 results were driven by continued strong sales of iPhone, services and wearables, and we are very excited about the products and services in our pipeline.”

Luca Maestri, Apple’s CFO, added: “Our strong business performance drove revenue growth in each of our geographic segments, net income of $11.5bn, and operating cash flow of $14.5bn. “We returned almost $25bn to investors through our capital return program during the quarter, including $20bn in share repurchases.”

Apple said it expects revenues between $60bn and $62bn in Q4.