Apple Computer Inc’s French division, Apple France SA, saw a turnover of $383m for the year ending September 30, reports Agence France Presse from Paris. Managing director GianCarlo Zanni also predicted that turnover would rise again in the next year, but not as sharply. Zanni also revealed that Apple France would be buying a large site near Saint-Quentin en Yvelines for $11.7m dollars and would be investing around $50m in the construction of a 30,000 square metre plant to be operational by the start of 1993. Apple France accounts for 30% of its parent company’s European business, and as such is Apple’s largest source of revenue outside the US. The Apple France division, with a staff of 291 at the end of this fiscal year, has continued to give good performance and is probably the most productive, stated Zanni, who predicted that 90,000 Macintoshes would be installed in France by the end of 1989. The Mac portable was enjoying a remarkable commercial success, he continued, but admitted that Apple was at present a long way short of being able to respond to demand, mainly from small to medium firms, which account for 60% of our sales, and are still at the centre of our activities. Fiscal 1989 had been a strategic year for Apple, mainly because of the in troduction of four new Macintoshes, 12 network boards and new network software; a new commercial policy for Europe and the opening of two new commercial centres in Nantes and Marseille were also cited as decisive in 1989’s strategy. Meanwhile, Paris-based Apple Europe turned in sales of $1,200m for 1989, up 40% from the same period last year and representing 23% of Apple’s total sales. Zanni also stated that Apple Europe, whose research and development centre is granted 7.4% of its annual turnover, is presently being considered for flotation. Apple Inc as a whole reported turnover up to $5,280m, of which 33% was done outside the US, and made a net profit of $454m.
