TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Apple appears to be gorging on consumer demand for its new smartphone, the iPhone 6. The company's US$8.47 billion net profit during the third quarter of 2014 was 13.3 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

"The 2014 fiscal year is a new record, including the release of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus," Timothy D. Cook, Apple's chief executive, said in a company report on Tuesday, October 21, 2014.

Cook is very optimistic about the last quarter of 2014. The company's fiscal performance is expected to be exceptional especially in the upcoming holiday season. Apple shares spiked above two percent after the company's financial report were announced.

Toni Sacconaghi, Financial Analyst from Sanford C. Bernstein, said that Apple needs to continue developing other products and not just depending heavily on the iPhone if the company wishes to be competitive against its rivals.

Smartphone sales continue to rise, despite the slight drop in countries such as United States and Europe. However this does not apply to Apple. Last year, Apple released two new iPhone models simultaneously soon after they released a larger screen version of the same iPhone.

Total iPhone sales until September of this year reached 39.9 million units, while iPad sales dropped to 12.3 million units compared to last year's 13.1 million.

BBC | NEW YORK TIMES