Apple comes in ahead of estimates thanks to 'marked improvement' in China

For the three months ended 30 June, Apple turned in a 1% increase in revenues to $53.8bn and while earnings per share dropped 7% to $2.18, that figure was still ahead of the $2.10 per share projected by analysts.

Although iPhone sales fell 12% to $25.99bn, a 12.6% rise in services revenue to a new record of $11.46bn helped offset some of the declining handset sales despite missing expectations of $11.73bn.

Chinese sales fell 4% to $9.16bn, a significant improvement on the 22% decline in the group's second trading quarter, as trade tensions between the US and China continued to weigh on Apple.

"We actually grew in mainland China," said chief executive Tim Cook. "Non-iPhone revenue grew 17%. We grew in every category outside of iPhone."

Apple also noted that revenues in its Wearables, home and accessories segment came to $5.53bn, well ahead of the $4.81bn expected by analysts.

Looking forward, Apple expects fourth-quarter revenues of somewhere in the vicinity of $61bn-$64bn.

As of 2200 BST, Apple shares had climbed 4.14% in extended trading to $217.42 per share.