by , 4:40 PM EDT, October 11th, 2005

Apple Computer announced Tuesday record profits and revenues for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended September 20th, 2005. The company posted revenue of US$3.68 billion and quarterly profits of $430 million, $.50 per diluted share, $.38 per share after accounting for a one-time tax benefit. This compares to revenue of $2.35 billion and a net profit of $106 million, or $.13 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

The company shipped some 1.236 million Macs during the quarter, and 6.451 million iPods. The Mac shipments beat analyst estimates heading into today's announcement, while iPod shipment were lighter than expected.

Mac sales were up 48% over the year-ago quarter, and iPod sales were up 220%, but analysts had been expecting the company to sell from 6.7 million to 8 million iPods. Despite missing analyst estimates, this was the 10th consecutive record quarter for iPod unit sales for the company.

Apple did beat earnings estimates, which had been pegged at $.37 cents per share coming into today's announcement.

"We're thrilled to have concluded the best year in Apple's history, with 68 percent year-over-year revenue growth and 384 percent net profit growth," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement. "This is the direct result of our focus on innovation and the immense talent and creativity at Apple. We could not be more excited about the new products we're working on for 2006."

The company is offering guidance of another record-breaking quarter in the December quarter, with revenue expected to be $4.7billion, and profits of $.46 per share, including a one-time compensation expense of $.03 per share.

The Mac Observer will be monitoring Apple's conference call for additional information or details about the company's performance.

*In the interest of full disclosure, the author holds a small share in AAPL stock that was not an influence in the creation of this article.