Apple has just reported a $US1.67 billion ($US1.82-a-share) net profit for the three months ending September 26 - a 47% jump on its year-ago quarter.

Analysts had been expecting earnings of $US1.42 a share.

Revenue also topped expectations, coming in at $US9.87 billion, well ahead of the consensus estimate of $US9.2 billion.

Apple’s boomer result was driven by iPhone sales, with a record 7.4 million handsets sold over the quarter; a 7% increase.

Mac sales passed the 3 million mark - another record for the company - partly on the back of its new Snow Leopard operating system.

iPod sales slumped 8% to 10.8 million for the quarter, but part of the decrease was accounted for by customers cross-grading to higher-margin iPhones.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects to earn between $US1.70 and $US1.78 a share on revenue of $US11.3 billion to $US11.6 billion - slightly below analysts expectations. However, investors obviously believed Steve doth protest too much; Apple shares (NAS: AAPL) were up nearly 6% in after hours trading following the announcement.

So far, this quarter's tech earnings season has looked good, with Google clocking a 27% jump in proft on the back of a recovering online market, and IBM registering a 14% jump in profit (but 7% decline in sales).

Sales slumped 20% at Nokia as the Finnish phone company slid to its first loss of the decade, but analysts fingered competitive pressure from BlackBerry maker RIM, Apple and others for the decline as much as the lingering recession.