Apple beats market expectations in March quarter earnings (AAPL)

Apple earned $1.33 per share on revenue of $8.16 billion for the March quarter, beating analyst projections of $1.09 and $8 billion. Gross margin was 36.4%, up from 32.9% in Qtr 1 2008.

Despite the ongoing recession, Apple also beat sales estimate for the Mac, iPod and iPhone, although it wasn’t all positive news. Mac sales were down 3% for the quarter vs the same quarter last year, for 2.22 million units (although fell less than expected). This was countered by sales of 11.01 million iPods during the quarter, 3% up on last year, and iPhone sales of 3.79 million units, a 123% rise over 2008.

“We are extremely pleased to report the best non-holiday quarter revenue and earnings in our history,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO in a press release. “Apple’s financial condition remains very robust, with almost $29 billion in cash and marketable securities on our balance sheet. Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter of 2009, we expect revenue in the range of about $7.7 billion to $7.9 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share in the range of about $.95 to $1.00.”

AAPL stock traded up 2.97% to $125.12 in after hours trading.