Apple has reported record Mac sales and one of its best third quarters ever.

For the company's third fiscal quarter, which ended 28 June, Apple reported US$7.46bn in revenue and net profit of US$1.07bn, equal to US$1.19 per share. The results far exceeded the company's own guidance for the quarter and also beat Wall Street expectations of US$7.37bn and US$1.08 per share.

Mac sales were roughly in line with forecasts, at 2.5 million units shipped during the quarter, and iPod shipments were a little higher than expected, at 11 million units. Mac shipments grew by 41 per cent, while iPod shipments grew 12 per cent.

Sales of iPhones were 717,000 during the quarter - approximately what was expected. Due to the supply issues Apple ran into around the middle of May, iPhone sales suffered, but momentum has been regained subsequently, with one million iPhone 3Gs already sold.

Apple's guidance for the upcoming quarter was well below Wall Street forecasts. The company said to expect US$7.8bn in revenue and earnings per share of US$1, while analysts were looking for US$8.3bn in revenue and US$1.24 in earnings per share.