Apple sales growth seesaws in China

US tech giant Apple Inc's sales growth in China for the last quarter lags its average growth worldwide, with one main cause being product delays in the Chinese market, analysts said Thursday.

Apple has filed its financial report for the quarter ended December 29, showing that sales in the Greater China region reached $6.83 billion, growing only 26 percent compared to the figures for the previous quarter, Apple's lowest regional figure, far below the global average at 52 percent.

It marked for the first time the company has disclosed its financial data for the China market.

However, the sales in China grew 67 percent from a year earlier, making China the company's fastest-growing market compared with a worldwide average of 18 percent.

"The big difference between year-on-year and quarter-by-quarter growth shows that product delays have greatly impacted performance," Li Yi, secretary-general of the China Mobile Internet Industry Alliance, told the Global Times.

Apple released the new iPad mini and iPhone 5 in October 2012, but they did not reach China until December.

On a conference call Thursday, Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said the company is working on expanding Apple's retail presence in China. He said, "One year ago, we had six stores; we now we have 11. We obviously have many more to open."

Cook visited China for the second time as Apple's CEO earlier this month, meeting with government officials and business partners.

The Chinese mainland has never been one of the first markets for new Apple product releases. And according to Cook, China's regulatory approvals have been a factor in delaying releases.

"I think Cook's meetings with officials may relate to this issue, as a way to guarantee good sales in the company's second largest market," said Li.

Sun Peilin, an analyst with consultancy Analysys International, told the Global Times he thinks Apple will witness good sales growth in China in the near future, as many Chinese firms continue to develop Apple applications.

"But because the company's new product releases have less revolutionary innovation, it is difficult to believe that the company will still be able to generate rapid growth in the long run," said Li.