Apple has reported "better-than-expected" results for its fiscal second quarter that ended March 29.

For the quarter, the company reported revenue of $7.51 billion and profits of $1.16 a share.

Apple shipped 2,289,000 Mac computers during the quarter, representing 51% unit growth and 54% revenue growth over the year-ago quarter.

The company sold 10,644,000 iPods during the quarter, representing 1% unit growth and 8% revenue growth over the year-ago quarter.

Quarterly iPhone sales were revealed to be 1,703,000, which is lower than you'd expect for a company that hopes to sell 10 million of the phones in 2008. Global iPhones sales for Q1 were around the 2.3 million mark.

"We're delighted to report 43% revenue growth and the strongest March quarter revenue and earnings in Apple's history", said Steve Jobs.

And, as a teaser for fan boys everywhere, added: "With over $17 billion in revenue for the first half of our fiscal year, we have strong momentum to launch some terrific new products in the coming quarters".

For the third quarter of fiscal 2008, Apple expect revenue of about $7.2 billion and earnings per diluted share of about $1.00.

The market has initially reacted positively to the news with Apple up 31 cents in after hours trading, to $163.20.