Australian iPhone Generates $300 Million.

The Apple iPhone now accounts for 5.8 percent of the Australian mobile phone market.

IDC have estimated that the company shipped approximately 125,000 units to Australia in the first two months following the device’s release in July last year.

This information was released after Apple submitted their 2008 financial statements to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in March.

The rapid growth in 2008 coincided with the launch of flagship stores in Sydney, Chatswood and Melbourne. The documents submitted detailed a 34 per cent growth on the previous year's grand total of $846 million to reach $1.16 billion, making a gross profit in 2008 of $118 million.

Apparently, since 2006 Apple has doubled its number of employees “locally” to 629 from a previous total of just 322; however since 2007 there has been a relatively small staffing cost increase of $6 million from last year’s $22.6 million to a current sum of $28 million.

In spite of the great progress made in the Australasian region, this market is still extremely small in comparison with the US market- in spite of bleak predictions from analysts, Apple’s US stores recorded first-quarter revenues of roughly $10 billion. Chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer claimed that it was the highest the company had ever seen.

Oppenheimer is one of three local directors, including managing director, Anthony King, and director of finance, Paul Whittingham, who noted in their ASIC filing that "momentum in growth experienced during 2007 continues", whilst the only product mentioned specifically was the iPhone 3G.