Apple India’s revenue dropped in FY 2019: Report

Apple India faced its first revenue and net profile slump in FY 2019, according to an Economic Times report. Apple's revenue from operation dropped to ₹10,538.3 crore, a 19% drop. The profits fell more than 70% to 262.3 crore, the company reported to Registrar of Companies (RoC) in its recent filings.

The FY 2019 slump, however, isn't surprising as the company faced multiple challenges such as weakened currency and steep pricing of its new iPhones last year. After Q4 2018 earnings report, Apple CEO Tim Cook had confirmed a "flat" business in India and that the slump was "speed bumps" in a long journey.

According to senior analyst Faisal Kawoosa, Apple had shipped just one million units into India in the first half of 2018, down from the 3.1 million iPhones shipped in the same period in the previous year.

Apple, however, is unlikely to end FY20 at a similar note. Earlier this year, Apple said it had 'bounced back' to double digit in the country. According to reports, Apple benefited from the deep discounts, price cuts and offers on its select iPhones.

"Apple's shipments grew 21% annually in Q2 2019 in India. The growth was driven by iPhone XR which was heavily discounted recently. Consumers could buy the phone for about ₹51,000 approximately, down from the original price of ₹70,000 approx. This helped Apple better its performance in India," Counterpoint Research analyst Parv Sharma had said.

Apple recently introduced new iPhone 11 series. The company launched iPhone 11 at a lower launch price than the last year's iPhone XR. The company is also bundling attractive bank offers to make the new iPhones more affordable for Indian customers. It also dropped the price of its older models. Analysts believe lower pricing of iPhone 11 will help Apple further revive its sales in India.