BENGALURU: Apple’s iPhone sales are set to dip by around a quarter in India’s holiday season fourth quarter, putting them on course for the first full-year fall in four years, industry research firm Counterpoint said on Saturday.
The Cupertino, California company’s struggle to break through with India’s 1.3 billion consumers swung more sharply into focus this week after Apple blamed a disappointing set of sales forecasts on a handful of big emerging markets.
Chief Executive Tim Cook said after publishing third quarter results that sales were flat in India in the fourth quarter, which includes a month-long festive season culminating this week in Diwali — a bumper period for electronics sales.
Neil Shah, research director at HongKong-based Counterpoint Research, said on Saturday its channel checks pointed to numbers for the quarter in the range of 700,000 to 800,000 units, down from about a million a year ago.
For the whole of 2018, Apple was set to sell about 2 million phones — a drop of about a million from last year, he said, as Indians baulk at high prices for the devices, driven by trade tariffs and a weak rupee.
“Sales are set to drop for the first time in four years,” Shah said. “If you look at Q3 — it was 900k last year and this (year) is almost 450k.
“Iphones have gone costlier and the features and specs aren’t that compelling. The install base of android has grown vastly; the new customer base (for Apple) is not coming.”
Cook on Thursday called the company’s problems in India “speed bumps along a very long journey” and most analysts say that the prestige of Apple’s brand should allow it to claim back lost ground as Indians’ spending power continues to grow.
Shah said that, while more than half the phones sold this year were older iPhone models, high selling prices meant Apple’s Indian revenue should still be flat or slightly higher than a year ago.
India iPhone sales to fall for first time in four years: researchers
India iPhone sales to fall for first time in four years: researchers
- For the whole of 2018, Apple was set to sell about 2 million phones, a drop of about a million from last year
- Apple called the company’s problems in India “speed bumps along a very long journey”
Oil prices rise sharply after attacks in Middle East disrupt global energy supply
- Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East would slow or grind to a halt.
- Attacks throughout the region have restricted countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world
NEW YORK: Oil prices rose sharply Monday as US and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes against Israel and US military installations around the Gulf sent disruptions through the global energy supply chain.
Traders were betting the supply of oil from Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East would slow or grind to a halt. Attacks throughout the region, including on two vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf, have restricted countries’ ability to export oil to the rest of the world. Prolonged attacks would likely result in higher prices for crude oil and gasoline, according to energy experts.
West Texas Intermediate, the light, sweet crude oil produced in the United States, was selling for about $72 a barrel early Monday, up around 7.3 percent from its trading price of about $67 on Friday, according to data from CME group.
A barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at $78.55 per barrel early Monday, according to FactSet, up 7.8 percent from its trading price of $72.87 on Friday, which had been a seven-month high at the time.
Higher global energy prices could lead to consumers paying more for gasoline at the pump and shelling out more for groceries and other goods, at a time when many are already feeling the impacts of elevated inflation.
Roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil per day — about 20 percent of the world’s oil — are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, making it the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, according to Rystad Energy. Tankers traveling through the strait, which is bordered in the north by Iran, carry oil and gas from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Iran.
Iran had temporarily shut down parts of the strait in mid-February for what it said was a military drill, which led oil prices to jump about 6 percent higher in the days that followed.
Against that backdrop, eight countries that are part of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced they would boost production of crude Sunday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, in a meeting planned before the war began, said it would increase production by 206,000 barrels per day in April, which was more than analysts had been expecting. The countries boosting output include Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman.
“Roughly one-fifth of global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for world trade, meaning markets are more concerned with whether barrels can move than with spare capacity on paper,” said Jorge León, Rystad’s senior vice president and head of geopolitical analysis, in an email. “If flows through the Gulf are constrained, additional production will provide limited immediate relief, making access to export routes far more important than headline output targets.”
Iran exports roughly 1.6 million barrels of oil a day, mostly to China, which may need to look elsewhere for supply if Iran’s exports are disrupted, another factor that could increase energy prices.
