Apple quarterly profit rises 67 percent

SAN FRANCISCO – Apple Inc. posted a 67 percent rise in quarterly net profit today due to strong sales of its Macintosh computers and iPod music players in a period when much of the focus had been on the iPhone.

Apple’s net profit was $904 million, or $1.01 per share, compared with $542 million, or 62 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue was $6.22 billion, up 29 percent from $4.84 billion a year earlier.

Apple had been expected to show revenue of $6.06 billion, according to the average forecast on Reuters Estimates.

Shares of Apple have more than doubled since the start of the year, when Chief Executive Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone. The stock trades at 37 times its expected 2008 profit, at the high end of the company’s historical range.