Apple's India revenue hits $1 billion in FY15

BENGALURU: Apple didn't take India seriously in the early years of the global iPhone iPad rage. But now, the country is likely one of its fastest growing markets. The company is said to have touched $1 billion in revenue in India in the financial year ended March 31, 2015 -an increase of over 40% from the year before when it did Rs 4,500 crore in revenue. It's also three times more than what it did just three years ago in 2011-12.

Sources told TOI that the company is close to filing the final results with the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA). But even without that, the unit sales figures indicate that an over $1billion revenue is inevitable.Apple has sold 1.3 million phones in 2014-15 compared to 9.28 lakh it sold in the previous fiscal -a growth rate of 42%, according to figures compiled by Cybermedia Research.

Industry experts say a significant part of the sales came from the big launches of last year, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, both priced at the top end. So revenue growth is likely to have exceeded unit sales growth.

An email sent to Apple on its revenues and handset sales did not elicit a response till the time of going to press.

“Considering the price points and last year's launches, Apple is doing better-thanexpected numbers in India,“ said Shiv Putcha, associate director and consumer mobility lead for Asia-Pacific in technology research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). Market Review Report Faisal Kawoosa, general manager research & consulting at Cybermedia Research, said customers who buy iPhones have a higher brand loyalty and the chances of them buying other Apple products are relatively higher. “It has an evolved user base and they don't look for free apps like a general Android user.“

Kawoosa believes Android is not a preferred option for premium smartphone users.“People who are worried about the cost buy Android. There is a vacuum with respect to the premium phones. Samsung and HTC have seen their market shares drop,“ he said.

Apple has been aggressively marketing in India in recent years. To increase adoption in the price-sensitive market, Apple has introduced easy financing options that have helped propel its sales.

Apple is said to have sold more than a 1 lakh units of iPhone 6 Plus and more than 3 lakh units of iPhone 6, both priced upwards of Rs 50,000, in the just concluded fiscal. Even with $1 billion in sales, India contributes just about 1% to the overall global sales of Apple. But it clearly is becoming one of the key markets.