Apple shares drop 5% despite 85% profit hike

Apple, the world's biggest technology company, reported full year results showing net profits for the year to 25 September were $25.9bn (£16.5bn), up 85% on the previous year.

However, the increase was not enough to satisfy Wall Street, with the shares falling nearly 5% in after-hours trading, the BBC reports.

There was some disappointment with the fourth quarter of the year, when no major new products were released.

It is the first set of results since the death of co-founder Steve Jobs.

In the fourth quarter of the year, Apple sold 17.1 million iPhones, which was a 21% increase on the same period last year, and 11.1 million iPads-up 166%.

But analysts had been expecting iPhone sales of 20 million in the quarter.

Apple said sales were hurt in September by customers waiting for the new version, the iPhone 4S, which was released on 14 October. It sold four million of the new models in the first three days after launch.

The company also sold 4.9 million Mac computers in the quarter - up 27% over the same period last year.

"The numbers are actually quite good. The reason why the stock is off - I think some of the analysts got carried away," said Shaw Wu, analyst at Sterne Agee told the BBC.