Apple quarterly profit slips 19% on lower iPhone sales

Apple said Tuesday its profit over the past quarter fell 19 percent to $9 billion, pulled down by a widely expected drop in iPhone sales.

The world's biggest company by market value said revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter fell to $46.9 billion from $51.5 billion a year earlier.

The results were largely in line with market forecasts and showed sales of the iPhone -- Apple's biggest revenue and profit driver -- down five percent from a year ago to 45.5 million units.

The quarterly update only provides limited information on the reception of the newest iPhone models, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which were released in early September.

Analysts were expecting declines in iPhone sales with many smartphone markets saturated, a situation which has led Apple to focus on new products like the Apple Watch and services like mobile payments and streaming music.

Chief executive Time Cook welcomed what he called "our strong September quarter results," saying they :cap a very successful fiscal 2016 for Apple."

Cook said in a statement: "We're thrilled with the customer response to iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and Apple Watch Series 2, as well as the incredible momentum of our Services business, where revenue grew 24 percent to set another all-time record."

Apple closed out its fiscal year ending September 24 with a net profit of $45.7 billion on revenues of $215.6 billion, both figures lower than the prior year.