Smartphone and tablet maker Apple said second-quarter earnings jumped 93% in the March quarter, boosted largely by stronger-than-expected iPhone sales.

Shipments in the fiscal second quarter totaled 35.1 million units, easily topping Wall Street forecasts of 31 million to 33 million,
while iPad shipments were on the low side of estimates at 11.8 million.

The company’s iPhone is widely regarded as the market leader, competing against Google’s  Android ecosystem of phones and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry.

Net income for the three months ended March 31 rose to $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per share, from $6 billion, or $6.40 per share, a year earlier, beating a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $10.04 a share.

Fiscal second-quarter revenue jumped to $39.2 billion, 59 percent more than a year earlier and 6.5 percent higher than analysts’ average forecasts.

“Our record March quarter results drove $14 billion in cash flow from operations, said Apple’s CFO Peter Oppenheimer.

“Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68.”

The next quarter’s results will be lower because Apple doesn’t expect to sell as many iPhones in the quarter. Customers often hold off on iPhone purchases before Apple releases an upgrade and analysts expect a new version of the handset later this year.

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