A growing preference among consumers for lower-priced iPhones contributed to a significant shortfall for Apple in its latest quarterly earnings compared with Wall Street expectations, according to figures released on Tuesday.

苹果(Apple)周二发布的财报数据显示，由于消费者日益偏好价格较低的iPhone，一定程度上造成苹果上季度利润显著逊于华尔街的预期。

The slump left Apple with its first revenue decline in 13 years and added to concerns among investors that the world’s biggest technology company will find it hard to return to solid grow as the smartphone market matures.

这种低迷导致苹果出现了13年来的首个季度营收下滑，并让投资者更加担心随着智能手机市场趋于成熟，这家全球最大的科技公司将很难恢复稳定的增长。

Apple reported revenues of $50.6bn for the first three months of the year, down 13 per cent from the year before, with earnings per share falling by 18 per cent to $1.90. Wall Street had been expecting earnings of $2 a share on revenues of $52bn.

苹果财报显示，今年首季度营收506亿美元，同比下降13%，每股收益(EPS)下降18%，至1.90美元。华尔街此前的预期是每股收益2美元，营收520亿美元。

The company also issued a far gloomier outlook for its current quarter than investors expected, with a forecast that revenues would hit $41bn-$43bn compared to the $47bn most analysts had pencilled in. However, Apple said this partly reflected a $2bn inventory adjustment and that end-demand for the iPhone remained stronger than the forecast seemed to imply.

苹果还就当前这个季度发布了比投资者所预期的暗淡得多的展望，它预计当前这个季度的营收将在410亿至430亿美元之间，而大多数分析师的预期是470亿美元。不过苹果表示，这在一定程度上反映的是20亿美元的库存调整，而且iPhone的终端需求仍比预测数字所暗示的要强劲。

The disappointment led to a 7.8 per cent fall in the company’s shares in after-hours trading to $95.99.

苹果财报引发的失望情绪导致其股价在盘后交易中下跌7.8%，至每股95.99美元。

Despite the decline, Apple chief executive Tim Cook rejected suggestions that the global smartphone market had reached an inflection point and that the company’s historic period of growth had come to an end. Instead, he blamed a slowdown in the smartphone market on temporary macroeconomic weakness and predicted that conditions would turn up again.

虽然遭遇滑坡，但苹果首席执行官蒂姆•库克(Tim Cook)对全球智能手机市场已到转折点和苹果历史性增长期已到终点的说法不以为然。相反，他将智能手机市场增长放缓归咎于宏观经济的暂时性疲软，并预言形势会再次好转。

“This too shall pass,” Mr Cook said on a call with analysts, adding that Apple was confident “that the market, and particularly us, will grow again”.

库克在电话会议中向分析师表示：“这一切都是暂时的。”他接着说道，苹果相信，“市场、特别是我们自己，会再次呈现增长。”

Sales in Greater China were a particular black spot, with revenues tumbling 26 per cent to $12.5bn. Apple said this was largely down to a slump in Hong Kong, as a fall-off in tourism to the region hit sales there. Revenues from mainland China were down only 11 per cent, partly because of a difficult comparison with a year before when sales jumped 81 per cent.

大中华区的销售下滑尤为剧烈，营收剧减26%，至125亿美元。苹果表示，这主要是由香港销售情况低迷造成的，赴港旅游人次的减少对当地的销售情况造成打击。中国内地营收仅下降11%，而且在一定程度上是由去年同期基数太高导致的——去年同期，苹果在中国内地的销售额激增81%。