Apple Doubled Its Business in India in Fiscal 2021, CEO Tim Cook Says

Apple doubled its business in India in the fiscal 2021, CEO Tim Cook said during the company's earnings call on Friday. The executive also stated that the company earned nearly one-third of its revenue from emerging markets in the fiscal year. Despite the growing progress in India, the Cupertino company missed Wall Street expectations due to supply constraints owing to COVID-19 and its outcomes in key markets. Apple said that it generated a quarterly revenue of $83.4 billion (roughly Rs. 6,23,800 crore) in the fourth quarter that ended September 25.

“We are optimistic about the future, especially as we see strong demand for our new products,” Cook, 60, said while addressing investors during the earnings call.

The executive did not reveal the factors that helped Apple achieve the notable growth in India. However, he did highlight that the iPhone maker “grew double digits in each geographical segment, setting September quarter records in both developed and emerging markets.”

Notably, this is not the first time when Cook has vaguely talked about Apple's growth in India and showed optimism about further success in emerging markets. In January, too, he had said that the company's business in India doubled in the previous quarter. He had also informed about achieving a “quarterly record” in the Indian market in October last year.

Just before the festive season in the country, Apple introduced the iPhone 13 series that helped reposition the iPhone 12 models. The repositioning also resulted in a dip in the prices of older iPhones.

Nevertheless, some market experts believe that updates from Apple were not the primary reason for its success in the country.

“What has definitely changed is the growth in the luxury segment across all products,” said Faisal Kawoosa, Founder and Chief Analyst of market insights firm TechArc.

He added that even in the smartphone market in India, the luxe segment (Rs. 50,000 and above as defined by TechArc) has doubled in a year's time by volume. This is because the segment of luxury devices and products and even a segment lower were somewhat shielded from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on many fronts, he said.

The analyst also cited market insights to underline that Apple crossed three million units in iPhone sales in India last year alone and is expected to cross the four million mark this year.

Prabhu Ram, Head of Industry Intelligence Group at market research firm CMR told Gadgets 360 that Apple continued to have a “stellar run” in India. He said that the old-generation iPhone models, especially the iPhone 12, contributed to the company's success in the quarter, alongside the iPhone 11.

“The increased share of local assembly, strong retail initiatives including on the online store, and aggressive marketing initiatives — all contributed to Apple's success during the festive sales,” Ram said.

He also noted that irrespective of the current supply constraints, Apple was doing well and was on course for its “best showing ever” in the country.

According to the data shared by CMR, Apple's iPhone received a year-on-year (YoY) shipments growth of 28 percent. The firm also predicts that for the entire year, the iPhone lineup in the country would grow its market share to 3.5 percent from the existing three percent, with iPhone shipments reaching the new milestone of five million units shipped.

That said, the ongoing supply constraints have impacted Apple in the last quarter as it missed Wall Street's revenue estimate of $84.8 billion (roughly Rs. 6,34,200 crores).

“We estimate these constraints had around a $6 billion (roughly Rs. 44,900 crores) revenue dollar impact, driven primarily by industry-wide silicon shortages and COVID-related manufacturing disruptions,” Cook said.