Apple Posts First Loss in Three Years, Cuts Inventory

The company posted a $183 million (51 cents per diluted share) profit in the same period last year. As news of the loss became public, Apple also announced that it had removed a glut of unsold Macs in the retail channel and would return to profitibility in this quarter. “We took our medicine last quarter and brought our channel inventories down to five and a half weeks,” said CEO Steve Jobs.

The company’s results were being watched closely by analysts, as it is one of the first companies to report flagging holiday demand last year. Apple reported sales of $1.01 billion, down sharply from $2.34 billion for the same period last year.