Apple reports third consecutive iPhone sales fall

US tech giant Apple reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday, revealing a third consecutive drop in revenue and sales of its flagship iPhone.

Apple sold 45.51 million phones in the three months to September 24, beating analyst estimates of 44.8 million, but still falling short of last year's numbers.

The company reported earnings per share of $1.67, narrowly ahead of the average estimates of $1.66 given by Thomson Reuters. In the corresponding period last year, it posted figures of $1.96 per share on sales of $51.5bn.

The group has seen its first annual revenue fall in 15 years, fuelled by the decline in its sales of the iPhone due to a vast increase in competition in the smartphone market.

Despite a brief rise in its shares in after-hours trading, Apple was down 2% late on Tuesday.

Some investors had hoped the failings of main rival Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 device would lead to an optimistic outlook for Apple ahead of the holiday season, but the iPhone maker projected along the lines of analyst expectations.

Among the factors for the lower expectations was the company's poor performance in China, where revenue declined 17% from the same quarter in 2015.

Despite the revenue falls, Apple's executives were defiant, saying that demand for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus was strong.

"We couldn't be more excited about the customer response to the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus," CEO Tim Cook said.