Apple has posted a record revenue of $26.74bn (£16.69bn) for the quarter ending December 25, up from $15.7bn (£9.79bn) a year ago.

Profit for the quarter came in at $6bn (£3.75bn), compared to a net quarterly profit of $3.38bn (£2.11bn) in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62% of the quarter’s revenue. Retail sales were $3.85bn (£2.4bn), nearly double the $1.97bn (£1.23bn) in the same quarter in 2009.

Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs said: “We had a phenomenal holiday quarter with record Mac, iPhone and iPad sales. We are firing on all cylinders and we’ve got some exciting things in the pipeline for this year including iPhone 4 on Verizon which customers can’t wait to get their hands on.”

The technology giant sold 7.33 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 4.19 million in the last quarter. Apple sold 4.13 million Macs during the quarter, a 23% increase on the year-ago quarter. 16.24 million iPhones were sold in the quarter, representing an 86% increase compared to the 2009 quarter. Apple sold 19.45 million iPods during the quarter, a 7% decrease.

Apple chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer said: “Looking ahead to the second fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $22bn and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $4.90.”

There has been worry about Apple as it emerged this week that boss Steve Jobs is to take medical leave for the second time.

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