Apple has said that profits rose in the three months to the end of March, as iPhone sales beat expectations in the company’s best performing non-holiday quarter ever. Profits hit $10.2 billion (£6.1 billion) after the company sold 43.7 million iPhones during the three-month period ending March 29th.

Apple also announced plans to buy an additional $30 billion of its stock back from shareholders and to increase its quarterly dividend by 8% in moves that are designed to placate shareholders in the face of a falling revenue trend.

“We're very proud of our quarterly results, especially our strong iPhone sales and record revenue from services," said chief executive Tim Cook in a statement.